Customer Reviews

Modern Marvels: Howard Hughes Tech

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Howard Hughes Tech" tells the story of how Howard Hughes went from a pilot and funder of faster propeller planes, to TWA owner, builder of the Spruce Goose (8 engines, designed to carry 750 troops and using hydraulic assisted surface controls), to early builder of Falcon, Phoenix, and Maverick missile systems, leader in satellites (weather, DirectTV, and spy systems), and constructor of military helicopters, the first lunar landing module, and the Glomar Explorer created to retrieve a Soviet submarine in 17,000+ feet of water. Unfortunately, injuries incurred in the crash of his XF-11 led to his overuse of pain medications and acerbated his OCD behaviors. By 1968 he employed 80,000 workers, and was the richest man in America; Hughes died in 1976.

The list price of this is $24.95, but copies are available for $2. There's a reason for that $2 price, but I'd say that is too much to pay. I watched it included in the 2-disc set of The Aviator The Aviator (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition) and like usual, the people who did the disc pack it with inaccuracies and half-truths. Among their gaffes are calling Hughes "the inventor of the seaplane". Huh? Of course, I'm of an age where I remember when A&E stood for Arts & Entertainment, before the channel became devoted to "reality" TV, and this is a perfect example of A&E's penchant for poorly researched so-called facts.

Howard Hughes and his technical inventions are undramatically viewed in this one hour Modern Marvels film; from the near fatal air crash, to the flying boat, to the raising of the Russian submarine from an ocean bottom of 17,000 feet.

Personally I never knew the building of the "Spruce Goose" (as it was popularly called) originated against the backdrop of shortages of metal war materials. Completed after the war, the government had little use for it and that sparked the senate hearings against Hughes. (Which by the way he not only survived but emerged victoriously.)