Category: X-Plane - Original Aircraft
Spruce Goose for X-Plane 6.4/6.51 (hk-1/H-4 Hercules)

File Description:
Spruce Goose v1.0 for X-Plane copyright (c) by Robert App, January 2003. History of the "Goose" - Officially designated the HK-1 (this project started out as a join venture between Hughes Aircraft and Kaiser) and later designated the H-4 Hercules after Kaiser was unable to work with Howard. It was and still remains the largest (physical dimensions wingspan and length) aircraft ever built, with the largest radial engines ever built by the West (28 cylinder, 3000 HP). The plane had to be constructed mainly of wood due to the shortage of strategic metals caused by WWII. The plane became known as the "Spruce Goose" or "Flying Lumberyard" despite the fact that the wood frame and skin were constructed mainly of laminated poplar; it also involved "sandwich" construction. The plane was flown briefly on a trial taxiing run but Hughes never allowed the plane to be flown again. Speculation has always been rampant that the design was flawed and the plane could not have met the original specification requirements. The X-Plane model is as accurate as is possible with limited plans available to me. The main wing is an X-Plane standard symmetrical high lift airfoil as opposed to the high lift asymmetrical foil section used in the actual plane. The main wing angle of attack has been adjusted to emulate the asymmetrical foil as closely as possible. Flight Testing the Goose - I have spent many hours testing the plane on X-Plane which with few exceptions provides a very accurate flight model. The published landing speed (79 mph) pretty well verifies the takeoff speed of 52 to 55 knots (k/hr x 1.15 (approx.) = mph). In straight flight the plane is difficult to stall since the nose quickly drops and increases speed if a stall develops with a significant loss of altitude. The plane has a range on 14000 gallons of fuel and takeoff weight of 350,000 Lbs of well over 3000 nautical miles. San Diego to Wake Island via Midway Attol is a piece of cake with lots of fuel to spare at 350,000 lb GW. The plane is flyable at a GW of over 410,000 lb but climb rate is very sluggish (max 400-600 fpm) and loss of speed due to excessive side slip can cause a fatal stall, in straight flight the plane is difficult to stall. So far my conclusion is that with todays materials and jet engines (which may be a future project) this aircraft could probably be competitive in performance with todays planes. With aluminum alloys that were available during its construction its performance would probably have exceeded the initial requirements.

Filename:	spruce_goose_v1.0_111952.zip
License:	Freeware, limited distribution
Added:	31st January 2003, 05:19:19
Downloads:	1,739
Author:	Robert App
Size:	1.69 MB