On this day in 1947, it flew for the first time.http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?month=10272963&day=10272967&cat=1027...

Well that was the first time H... and the last

It's bad enough to be grounded... but permanently dry-docked; I've heard people complain about airfares... try a single $23M flight (and consider that it was a 1940's rate)!
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Rather think you answered your own question.

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Of course, you and I weren't even around to afford anything back then, let alone now.

Your dad was able to afford it when he was just out of nappies Ozzy???

Pretty cool 8)

TSC.

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Then it flew at least five times since that means it also flew "no other" time as well as the "one" time (at least six if not equating "single" as "one"). 8)

I seen it.  I found actually viewing it as anticlimatic.  Seeing the soviet sub was more interesting IMHO.

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That surprises me. Maybe time & various documentaries & films on the subject of this fascinating character have clouded the issue. As with many other similar events it's become more of a legend than fact. The 'Spruce Goose' was actually built mainly of birch & many people thought of it as a 'flying lumberyard'. It was well behind schedule & no longer required, becoming an embarrassing 'white elephant' to the government & Hughes himself. It's debatable whether that famous hop on November 2, 1947 (two whole years after the end of WWII which it had been intended for) could be considered a real flight at all as it would still have been in "ground effect". I can't see how anyone could comment on its handling qualities after a short hop or say that it flew well. Only Hughes himself would have known anything about that & he wasn't telling.

There were many theories as to why Hughes never flew it again although by doing so he had effectively silenced his many critics & brought an end to the Federal investigation into his business affairs, many of which were dubious to say the least. This was probably a convenient end to the whole embarrassing affair. He had been accused of cheating the US Government out of millions of dollars & although extremely wealthy this was a very serious charge indeed. I think he was extremely lucky to get away with it. It was suggested that there was a noticeable & unexplained vibration & lack of control effectiveness which worried him during the test. It's also been suggested that it was considerably underpowered. Don't forget it was designed to carry up to 700 fully equipped troops & would have been lightly loaded during the "test flight".  I've also seen it mentioned that the Long Beach Harbor Authority had refused permission for it to leave harbour so the testing was confined to the harbour itself. Even so, the Harbor Authority impounded the aircraft following the first & only flight but this had achieved the desired result so was of no importance. Hughes never commented on it in public & if questioned would answer with "What do you think?"