Talk:Hughes H-4 Hercules
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[edit] Designed for Ground Effect?
IMO the Spruce Goose was build to fly at low altitude using ground effect. Ericd 22:49, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- Sort of. The Spruce Goose was supposedly designed for flight at 5000 feet[1], which is definitely "low altitude flight", but still waaaay too high for ground effect. -- Kaszeta 14:30, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- I've seen some suggestions that extreme-range flying was intended to be in ground effect, but I'm pretty sure it was designed to be capable of flying higher than that.
- Hughes' eccentricity and secrecy mean we really don't seem to know much about what made him never fly the plane again yet have it kept in flying condition until the day he died. —Morven 17:32, Nov 3, 2004 (UTC)
- The Soviet Union designed a number of airplanes to fly strictly in the ground-effect zone. The airplanes all had a number of features in common: stubby wings with surprisingly long chord lengths, fins on the wingtips to prevent the air underneath from spilling out the sides, and engines out in front of the wing that aim the exhaust to pass under the wing. The Spruce Goose has none of these. --Carnildo 23:22, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)
I'm pretty sure that the purpose of the plane to avoid submarine attacks and the war conditions made that it was designed to flight most of the time in ground effect, a very interresting choice reguarding fuel consumption that the Russian have since used on Ekranoplans.
While I can't imagine what's in another brain (and especially Hughes' brain)IMO Hughes believed that the Spruce Goose concept could be effective again in war conditions especially with newer engines. But maybe it I'm wrong and it was just sentimental.... Ericd 20:39, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Please read this http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020726.html Ericd 20:44, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)
[edit] Engineering innovations
It married a soon-to-be outdated technology—flying boats—to a massive airframe that required some truly ingenious engineering innovations. Does anyone know what some of these innovations were? -Willmcw 19:46, 7 Jan 2005 (UTC)
- I have no real knowledge of the topic, but I remember hearing that this was the frist aircraft to use hydrolics in the control mechanism. Can anyone confirm this?
- 82.6.79.160 21:32, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Another nickname
During the nearly thirty years that Hughes had this airplane maintained in its hangar, very few people were ever allowed to see it. The hangar personnel called the plane the "Jesus Christ", because, on the rare occasions when someone was allowed inside the hangar, he would take about six steps, and the crew could point to the spot where he would stop and say, "Jesus Christ!" It has, after all, one and a half times the wingspan of a Boeing 747. 69.173.113.129 03:57, 2 November 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Photo
Is that a real photo, or a screenshot from the movie "Aviator"? Just wondering, because I thought that helicopters (seen on the background) weren't that common in '47. If it's not a real photo, that should be stated in the decsription below the photo.
- That's a real photograph. Helicopters weren't common, but they were present for the first flight of the H-4. Willy Logan 18:15, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
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- Incidentally, Hughes Helicopters was formed in 1947 and became a major manufacturer of helicopters. -Willmcw 20:20, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
Shouldn't we be showing the photo of it mid-air? I mean, it only flew once, so it's not like that was a daily occurrence. Viper007Bond 09:32, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Rename
- The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.
The result of the proposal was the article was renamed. --Born2flie 22:37, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
Shouldn't this article be 'Hughes H-4 Hercules', being the official name, with 'Spruce Goose' redirecting here? I mean, I guess technically speaking that is the class of plane, but since no others were produced, Hercules would be more accurate. Fëaluinix 11:01, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
- Almost nobody knows of it as the 'Hughes H-4 Hercules'. Everyone knows of it as the 'Spruce Goose'. --Carnildo 06:20, 20 November 2005 (UTC)
- But the official name was the H-4 Hercules. Shouldn't we name the article after the official name of the plane instead of a derisive nickname its own creators detested? Willy Logan 18:14, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
I would like to put it to a vote: Shall we rename this article to "Hughes H-4 Hercules"? While it was not called to a formal vote, above, there were three people above who voiced their opinion. —Joseph/N328KF (Talk) 01:21, 18 February 2006 (UTC)
- No. If I were to ask a hundred people what the "Hughes H-4 Hercules" was, I'd get a hundred blank stares. If I were to ask a hundred people what the "Spruce Goose" was, most of them would mention something about a large airplane. --Carnildo 01:34, 18 February 2006 (UTC)
- I support the rename because I think that all articles about planes should have the primary title be the planes technical avionics name, with nicknames being redirects and prominantly mentioned in the introduction and throughout the article. --Jeff 01:16, 15 March 2006 (UTC)
- I too support the rename, its not like we want to prevent the Spruce Goose term from getting to this entry, but to emphasize the fact that this name is actually a nickname and not the actual name. The mere fact that the overwhelming majority of people know it only by this name should not dictate the name in an encyclopedia. With the advent of The Aviator I would expect more people to know (or be aware of) the Hercules name. In the end, my inclination is to be consistent with other aircraft, how many aircraft appear in Wikipedia under a derogative nickname? --Mac 08:01, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
- I agree, I think it should be called its proper name, and redirect from the nickname. Ben W Bell 08:04, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
- Also agree, though the standard seems to be rather difficult to maintain, since many aircraft have manufacturer designations, military designations, common names, and nicknames e.g. Grumman Albatross, Goose; OV-10 Bronco; A-10 Warthog. I would use the most common designation, in this case Hughes H-4 Hercules, with a redirect (as has been done here); most articles show the link as Hughes H-4 Hercules ("Spruce Goose") or less formally as Spruce Goose.--Justfred 23:24, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
- The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.
