On 2 November 1947, the Spruce Goose had its first and last flight.

Pilot by billionaire Howard Hughes, the world’s largest flying cargo ship, constructed primarily of wood and canvas, rose just 70 feet into the air and then landed again. The entire flight was less than one minute. Although critics were merciless and the plane never went into production, Hughes’ aircraft eventually came to be known for sparking innovations in design and construction which link it directly to modern Jumbo Jets.

Howard Hughes (1905-1976) was a playboy industrialist and a film producer. As handsome as he was eccentric, people followed his exploits in the Hollywood gossip columns. One of his earliest films was Hell’s Angels (1930) starring the 18 year old actress Jean Harlow and featuring elaborately staged and expensively filmed aerial combat sequences. He also made gangster pictures (Scarface, 1932) and Westerns (The Outlaw, 1941). Hughes dated many actresses; Katharine Hepburn, Ava Garner and Ginger Rogers among them. Famously, his engineering interests lead him to apply his talents to designing a bra to highlight Jane Russell’s performance in The Outlaw.

Hughes made his first fortune in the manufacture of oilfield drill bits, but eventually Hughes Industries shifted its interest to match Hughes’ interest in aviation becoming one of the major suppliers of the US Air Force. Hughes innovations included the development of the first retractable landing gear, but his love for all things related to flying extended far beyond the drafting table. He worked as a test pilot and set air-speed records throughout the 1930s.

As a younger man, Hughes took risks and survived innumerable airplane crashes. The resultant broken bones and head injuries were thought to have hastened his physical and psychological descent in his latter years. His last decades were spent as a recluse behind the closed doors of hotel penthouses in Las Vegas, in the Bahamas, in London, and in Nicaragua. He conducted business by speaking with only a few trusted associates – who claimed not to have actually seen him – and became the subject of speculation and rumor.

Howard Hughes died in 1976, in a plane en route to Houston for medical treatment. Hughes was buried in Houston and the Spruce Goose is now rests in the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
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Photo Caption: Howard Hughes behind the controls of the Spruce Goose.

Meet the Author

I live in a suburb of Detroit with her husband Jesse. I work in the non-profit sector for an organization concerned with disability rights and advocacy. My three adult sons live nearby. In my spare time, I can be found either swimming in cold bodies of water or reclining in a sauna; the extremes appeal to me.