All-wood seaplane makes waves in history

VER the years hardwood has been involved in some mighty powerful legends, but perhaps none as fascinating as the story of the Howard Hughes HK-l Hercules Flying Boat, the world's largest allwood aircraft.

Story has it that the idea was conceived by Glenn Odekirk when he heard Henry Kaiser, the famous World War II ship builder, comment while talking over the radio about allied ships lost to German submarines in the North Atlantic, "Well, I guess we will have to put wings on my boats." Odekirk, a native of Portland, Or., was Hughes' closest confidant and aviation expert for more than 30 years, supervising the Hughes Aircraft Co. and the building of the top secret D-2 Bomber aircraft which also was allwood. Confering with Kaiser and Hughes, he proposed the idea of a flying boat. In a short time the two men agreed to design and build the HK-l (Hughes-Kaiser, first aircraft).

On Nov. 16,1942, they contracted with the United States government to build three of the aircraft. Their defense plant corporation had $18 million made available to it with the stipulation that the aircraft were to be built of material noncritical to the war effort.

Designed as a cargo-type flying boat capable of transporting 750 combat troops with equipment over long distances (3,500 miles plus), the aircraft has a single hull and eight engines. The 165,000 cu. ft. hull is divided into a flight deck and a large cargo deck with access between provided by a circular stairway. Fuel bays below the cargo deck have a 14,000 gallons capacity.

Because of the limitation to nonstrategic materials, the entire frame and surface structure is constructed of laminated wood. Birch, because of its cross grain strength, is the principal wood used. Small amounts of poplar, balsa and spruce are used in specific areas. Representatives of Hughes Aircraft traveled to Wisconsin and Michigan to personally select the trees for the wood and monitor the cutting and milling.

Initial construction with Odekirk in charge was in a Hughes Culver City, Ca. , factory. Built on eight acres, 750 ft. long, 250 ft. wide and 100 ft. high, this building was believed to be the world's largest all-wood structure

Story at a Glance

Hardwood makes history in all.wood flying boat . . pet project of Howard Hughes missed wartime service, inspired Congressional investi. gation . . now a tourist at. traction.

at that time. Work was done on two levels with engineers laying out full size plans on the top level while work on the wing, hull and tail proceeded below.

On Nov. 2, 1947, Hughes took the flying boat through three test runs with 32 passengers and crew members aboard. Although there were no plans for conducting actual flight tests that day, he requested 15 degree flaps on the final run and the plane became airborne. It flew for less than one minute, covering approximately a mile at a height of 70 feet with a speed of 80 mph. This was its only flight.

After more than 30 years in storage, the aircraft was moved to a site near the Queen Mary in the Long Beach harbor in 1980. Under the direction of Wrather Port Properties, Ltd., it is dramatically displayed in a clear-span aluminum dome. The Spruce Coose, the legendary all-wood aircraft, is now a popular Southern California tourist attraction.