Howard Hughes - Aviation Pioneer, Part 2

Howard Hughes invested huge sums of his own money (in addition to funds provided by the federal government) as he designed, developed, built and personally flew the Hughes H-4 Hercules. More popularly known as the "Spruce Goose," the plane had eight engines and dwarfed all other contemporary aircraft.

This clip - from a 1974 documentary by Hughes Productions - includes a great deal of historical footage regarding the "flying boat." Move the video forward, to 2:56, to learn about it (and to see it fly).

Because of numerous delays in building the gigantic plane, Hughes was called to testify before Congress. An excerpt of that testimony, featuring Hughes' pointed comments, is also included in this clip.

See, also:

Howard Hughes - Aviation Pioneer, Part 1

AND

Spruce Goose - Hughes H-4 Hercules