Hughes H-4 Hercules

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H-4 Hercules

타입	초대형 수송선, 비행정
생산자	Hughes Aircraft
설계자	Howard Hughes (Glenn E. Odekirk) Henry J. Kaiser (concept only)[1]
처녀비행	2 November 1947
퇴역	2 November 1947, stored until 5 April 1976
현황	프로젝트 취소, 박물관에 보관
생산대수	1

Hughes H-4 Hercules는 일회성의 대용량 수송 비행기로서 Hughes Aircraft사에 의해 설계되고 제작되었습니다. 이 비행기는 1947년 처음이자 마지막이 된 비행을 했습니다. 전시(戰時)라는 제약으로 인해 비행기 선체는 나무로 만들어졌고, Howard Hughes가 정부의 재원을 비행기를 만드는 데 낭비하고 있다고 비난하던 비판가들에 의해 "멋진 거위"라는 뜻의 "Spruce Goose"라는 별명이 붙었습니다. 이 비행기는 역사상 가장 큰 비행정으로서, 그 날개와 높이 역시 비행기 역사상 최대였습니다. 이 비행기는 Evergreen Aviation Museum에 좋은 상태로 보존되고 있습니다.

철을 사용할 수 없었던 전시의 제약으로 인해 이 비행선은 선체의 대부분이 (이름의 spruce-전나무와는 다르게) 얇은 박달나무(laminated birch)로 만들어졌습니다. 합성 기술의 한 형태인 Duramold process,^[2]가 나무판의 성형에 적용되었습니다. 비행선은 기술적인 "tour de force(대걸작)"으로 평가받았습니다. 하지만 결국 프로젝트는 너무 비쌌고, 전쟁이 끝나면서 프로젝트도 취소되어 결국 처참한 실패로 남게 되었습니다.

목차 1 설계와 개발 2 첫 비행 3 Postwar 4 Popular Culture 5 Specifications (H-4) 6 References 7 External links 8 Related content

[편집] 설계와 개발

1942년, 미국 전쟁부는 전쟁 물자와 사람을 영국으로 수송할 수송선이 필요하게 되었습니다. Allied shipping in the Atlantic Ocean was suffering heavy losses to German U-boats, 따라서 많은 짐을 싣고 대서양을 건널 수 있는 비행기에 대한 요구가 생겼습니다.

비행기는 Liberty ships 프로그램을 담당했던 Henry J. Kaiser의 발명품이었습니다. 그는 당시까지 만들어진 비행기, 심지어 계획된 비행기까지 모두 합해도 가장 큰 규모였던 이 항공기를 만들기 위해 항공기 디자이너 Howard Hughes와 합작했습니다. 비행기가 완성되었을 때, 비행기는 750명의 완전무장 군인이나 1대의 M4 Sherman 탱크를 실을 수 있었습니다.^[3] 본래의 명칭이었던 "HK-1" 는 Hughes와 Kaiser의 합작을 상징합니다. ^[4]

The HK-1 contract in 1942, issued as a development contract,^[5] initially called for three aircraft to be constructed under a two-year deadline in order to be available for the war effort.^[6] Seven different configurations were considered including twin-hulled and single-hulled designs with combinations of four, six and eight, wing-mounted engines.^[7] The final design chosen was a behemoth, eclipsing any large transport yet built or even envisioned.^[1][5] To conserve metal, it would be built mostly of wood (elevators and rudder were fabric covered^[8]); hence, the "Spruce Goose" moniker tagged on the aircraft by the media, although ironically the aircraft wasn't constructed of Spruce. It was also referred to as the Flying Lumberyard by critics who believed an aircraft of its size physically could not fly. Hughes himself detested the nickname "Spruce Goose".

While Kaiser had originated the "flying cargo ship" concept, he did not have an aeronautical background and deferred to Hughes and his designer, Glenn E. Odekirk.^[1] Development dragged on which frustrated Kaiser who blamed delays partly on restrictions placed for the acquisition of strategic materials such as aluminium but also placed part of the blame on Hughes' insistence on "perfection."^[9] Although construction of the first HK-1 had taken place 16 months after the receipt of the development contract, Kaiser withdrew from the project.^[10]

Hughes continued the program on his own under the designation "H-4 Hercules" (initially identified as the HFB-1 to signify Hughes Flying Boat First Design^[8]), signing a new government contract that now limited production to one example. Work proceeded at a slow pace with the end result that the H-4 was not completed until well after the war was over. There were many reasons for this, not least of which was Hughes' mental breakdown during development.

In 1947, Howard Hughes was called to testify before the Senate War Investigating Committee over the usage of government funds for the aircraft, as Congress was eliminating war-era spending to free up federal funds for domestic projects. Though he encountered skepticism and even hostility from the committee, Hughes remained unruffled.

In a transcript of a Senate hearing, Hughes said: 틀:Cquote

[편집] 첫 비행

Senate hearings의 한 휴가중에, Hughes는 H-4의 taxi테스트를 한다는 이유로 California로 돌아왔다.^[8] 11월 2 1947, Hughes는 부조종사 Dave Grant와 두 명의 비행 기술자와 기자단 9명을 태우고 일련의 taxi테스트를 진행했다. 그 이후, 비행선은 물로부터 이륙하여 21미터를 뜬 채로 시속 217km의 속도로 1.6km정도를 날았다.^[11] 이 고도에서는 항공기가 ground effect를 피할 수 없고, 일부 비평가들은 이 비행기가 ground effect를 넘어설만 한 고도로 올라갈 동력이 없다고 보았다.^[12]

Hughes는 비평가들에게 일종의 대답을 한 것이었다. 그러나 이 프로젝트에 계속적으로 투자할 이유는 사라졌다. 의회는 Hercules 프로젝트를 종료했고, 이후 항공기는 다시 뜨지 않았다. 항공기는 1976년 Hughes가 사망할 때까지 그 상태로 보존되었다.

[편집] Postwar

After years of storage, in 1980, the Hercules was acquired by the California Aero Club, who successfully put the aircraft on display in a large dome adjacent to the Queen Mary exhibit in Long Beach, California. In 1988, The Walt Disney Company acquired both attractions. Disappointed by the lackluster revenue the Hercules exhibit generated, Disney began to look for another organization to take the exhibit off its hands. After a long search for a qualified buyer, the plane was acquired by the Evergreen Aviation Museum in 1995, who disassembled the aircraft and moved it by barge to its current home in McMinnville, Oregon (about an hour southwest of Portland) where it has been on display since.

By the mid-1990s, Hollywood converted the former Hughes Aircraft hangars, including the one that held the Hercules, into sound stages. Scenes from movies such as Titanic, What Women Want, and End of Days have been filmed in the 315,000 square foot (29,000 m²) airplane hangar where Howard Hughes created the legendary flying boat. The hangar will be preserved as a structure eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Buildings in what is today the housing development Playa Vista, Los Angeles.

Though the project was a failure, the H-4 Hercules, in some senses, presaged the massive transport aircraft of the late 20th century, such as the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, the Antonov An-124 and the An-225. The Hercules demonstrated that the physical and aerodynamic principles which make flight possible are not limited by the size of the aircraft, even if the viability of the airplane itself is, mainly due to the lack (at that time) of powerful enough engines.

틀:동영상

[편집] Popular Culture

The construction and flight of the Hercules was featured in the 2004 Hughes biopic The Aviator. Motion control and remote control models, as well as partial interiors and exteriors, of the aircraft were reproduced for this scene. The motion-control Hercules is on display at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, next to the real Hercules.

[편집] Specifications (H-4)

Performance specifications are projected.

틀:Aircraft specification

• Projected endurance (cruise): 20.9 hrs

[편집] References

Notes

Bibliography

틀:Refbegin

• Francillon, René J. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920: Volume II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55750-550-0.
• McDonald, John J. Howard Hughes and the Spruce Goose. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books Inc., 1981. ISBN 0-8306-2320-5.
• Odekirk, Glenn E. Spruce Goose (Title inside cover: HK-1 Hercules: A Pictorial History of the Fantastic Hughes Flying Boat). Long Beach,California: Glenn E. Odekirk and Frank Alcantr, Inc., 1982. No ISBN.
• Winchester, Jim. "Hughes H-4 'Spruce Goose'." Concept Aircraft: Prototypes, X-Planes and Experimental Aircraft. Kent, UK: Grange Books plc., 2005. ISBN 1-84013-309-2.
• Yenne, Bill. Seaplanes & Flying Boats: A Timeless Collection from Aviation's Golden Age. New York: BCL Press, 2003. ISBN 1-932302-03-4.

틀:Refend

[편집] External links

• Evergreen Aviation Museum, McMinnville, Oregon, home of the plane
• Spruce Goose: Where Is It Now? A history of the plane following Hughes' death
• The Aviator (2004) Biography/drama movie about Howard Hughes with H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose episode

[편집] Related content

틀:Aircontent