H-4 Hercules -would it fly?

[benyflyguy]

I was reading about this project lately. Has there been any technical review of whether or not this plane would have ever gotten out of ground effect??

 

[Silvaire]

Of course it would have, it wasn't designed by people who didn't know what they were doing. Despite the smear campaign against him Hughes Aircraft still exists today.

 

[Tantalum]

My first model kit was of this airplane. There's a lot of technical content out there about it, there's nothing particularly unusual about it other than it being huge

 

[Ghery]

Anyone actually seen it? I have. It is BIG. 8 engines, no reason it wouldn't get above ground effect. Except one. HH "cheated" to get it into ground effect. He wasn't given permission to even do that. Without permission, nothing flies. Or so they say...

 

[Timbeck2]

I saw it and went inside it back when it was at Long Beach.

 

[steingar]

I saw it and went inside it back when it was at Long Beach.

Me too. I bet it would fly just fine.

 

[Dana]

I remember reading about it when they were first getting ready to move it from the Hughes hangar to Long Beach, the original plan was to taxi it part of the way under its own power... but they probably couldn't find any pilot who could be trusted not to shove the throttles all the way forward.

 

[Silvaire]

The Hercules was designed to solve a specific problem and that was getting troops to Europe without having to worry about German U-boats. But that problem only existed for two or three years and by the time it was ready to fly it was no longer needed. That's the reason it got shelved. It was made of wood to preserve essential materials during the war effort and was never meant to be a viable long term platform.

 

[Tantalum]

^a bit like those giant gliders Germany had for a bit?

 

[MauleSkinner]

^a bit like those giant gliders Germany had for a bit?

And those gliders the U.S. had.

 

[brcase]

I think he meant Gigant glider Germany had, but giant works also.
and the US didn't really a have anything like it.
https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.php?aircraft_id=867

and the towplane:
https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.php?aircraft_id=528