Claim: Howard Hughes built an aircraft.
Evidence: He spent the rest of the 1930s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 Hercules -LRB- the `` Spruce Goose '' -RRB-.
The Hughes H-4 Hercules -LRB- also known as the `` Spruce Goose '' ; registration NX37602 -RRB- is a prototype strategic airlift flying boat designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company.
The aircraft made only one brief flight on November 2 , 1947 , and the project never advanced beyond the single example produced.
The Hercules is the largest flying boat ever built and has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in history.