Claim: Howard Hughes built an aircraft.

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 . Intended as a transatlantic flight transport for use during World War II , it was not completed in time to be used in the war . The aircraft made only one brief flight on November 2 , 1947 , and the project never advanced beyond the single example produced . Built from wood because of wartime restrictions on the use of aluminium and concerns about weight , it was nicknamed by critics the `` Spruce Goose '' , although it was made almost entirely of birch . The Hercules is the largest flying boat ever built and has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in history . It remains in good condition and is on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville , Oregon , United States .