History: Spruce Goose, Hughes H-4 Hercules

Notable appearances in media
In the 1988 biopic Tucker: The Man and His Dream, a pivotal meeting between automaker Preston Tucker and Howard Hughes takes place in front of the Hercules, within its hangar, where Hughes briefly tells Tucker that whether the Hercules flies is not the point, as well as how to circumvent the "establishment" and Senator Ferguson.
The 1987 animated feature Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose features the Hercules prominently. In the 1991 adventure film The Rocketeer, hero Cliff Secord uses a large-scale model of the Hercules to escape some eager federal agents and Howard Hughes himself. After Secord glides the model to safety, Hughes expresses relief that the craft might actually fly.