Hughes H-4 Hercules

I had a chance to watch the movie The Aviator a few days ago. It reminded me of my visit to the Evergreen Aviation Museum to see the Hughes H-4 Hercules. The scale of it is hard to grasp but the reason it was built in the first place is harder still. The movie certainly helped to put things into perspective. Even as a failue, I think it is still an important achievent in aviation history. It was great to have a chance to see it.

The plane anchors the main collection at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

Eight Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial engines, 4,000 hp (2,640 kW) each power the H-4.

Top of the massive tail sits 79 feet off the ground.

Front section of the cargo hold with stair leading to the flight deck.

That is a LOT of controls!

Beach balls provided additional flotation, fire supression system takes quite a bit of space.