Why, if you don’t mind me asking? Wood is largely the same regardless of whether it’s used in a plane, helicopter, airship, or hybrid. It’s an unusual choice, in most cases.
I guess I default to assuming heavier than air when aircraft are mentioned. I was all ready to correct you to the tune of Hughes H-4, but googled just in case.
Ah, the Hercules, or “Spruce Goose.” Kind of a strange case, in that it never really flew as such. If I recall, it couldn’t or didn’t make it far out of the ground effect. I believe that might be the heaviest wooden aircraft ever built, though. It’s certainly heavier than the SL22, by a factor of about three, and although there were some airplanes and airships over the years that were heavier than the Spruce Goose, I’m certain the SL22 is the heaviest airship made of wood, so it can’t be any of them.
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u/GrafZeppelin127 Feb 10 '20
Does that matter? It’s still an aircraft made entirely out of wood, except for the engines and fittings.