"Steve Beaver" wrote ...
We have all seen the film of the Spruce Goose lifting off the water for a
few seconds only to be retired to its hangar never to fly again but I
wonder, what would its performance have been? Did Hughes determine in that
brief hop that the aircraft was no good or did ecconomic concerns ground
it?

I believe he discovered the airplane didn't have enough power to fly out of
ground effect even at empty weight. Others say that he had to fly one time
to collect the money from the contract. In either case, it's been shown
that it wouldn't have flown with a full load.

Rich