Profile of the Day: Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes

On this day in 1947, Hollywood producer and aviator Howard Hughes flew the Spruce Goose on its first and only flight. Also called the Hughes Flying Boat, the plane was the largest aircraft ever built at the time.

Hughes was a successful and extremely wealthy movie producer when he founded the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932. Hughes had a lifelong passion for aviation and was an avid pilot. He even set a few aviation records himself, including a record in 1938 when he completed a flight around the world in just 91 hours. After the U.S. entered World War II, the government commissioned the Hughes Aircraft Company to build a large aircraft capable of transporting supplies and troops across the Atlantic.

Built almost entirely out of birch, the aircraft was designed to carry more than 700 men into battle. It had a wingspan of 320 feet, the largest of any aircraft in history. On November 2, 1947, Hughes piloted the aircraft for its first and only flight. With thousands of onlookers in attendance, Hughes successfully flew the aircraft 70 feet above the water for about a mile before landing. Despite its completion, the Spruce Goose was never put into production. Until his death, Hughes kept the aircraft ready for flight in a climate-controlled hangar.

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Images: Library of Congress, FAA