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All the United States Oregon McMinnville The Spruce Goose

The Spruce Goose

The wooden airship was the largest flying boat ever built.

McMinnville, Oregon

Added By
Hannah Wagner
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The H-4 Hercules, aka “Spruce Goose.”   Federal Aviation Administration
The Spruce Goose in the main building of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum.   Drew Wallner
The Spruce Goose side view   Moody 75
The Spruce Goose righthand wing   Moody 75
The Spruce Goose   Unknown
Aux Oil tank mounted just inboard of the port wing  
View of the Starboard engines and wing from the pilot’s top hatch  
View of the Port engines and wing from the pilot’s hatch  
Radio Operator’s Panel  
Flight Deck  
Howard Hughes’s air filtration system and circular staircase to access the flight deck  
Cross section showing wooden construction  
Aux support beams installed by Disney under the flight deck  
Onboard Fire Suppression System  
Loft Socks  
Hatch to access the fuel tanks  
Theoretical cargo arrangement  
Pilot’s secondary panel  
Pilot’s Position  
Pilot’s Instrumentation  
APU (Aux Power Unit) used to start the engines onboard the flight deck  
One of the beach balls found inside the wing floats  
Looking aft down the tail  
Log book showing the one and only flight  
Flight Engineers Panel  
Co-Pilot’s Station  
Engines of the Spruce Goose   scattered1
Inside the Spruce Goose   jill, jellidonut... whatever
Secondary Flight Engineers Panel  
View down the interior of the starboard wing  
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About

The Hughes H-4 Hercules, otherwise known as “Spruce Goose,” hatched from the need to transport World War II soldiers and supplies without the risk of being sunk by German U-boats. In 1942, the American shipbuilder Henry Kaiser took on this necessary innovation by looking to the skies.

Kaiser recruited Howard Hughes, a pilot, engineer, filmmaker, and millionaire to help design a flying boat that could airlift the cargo. Given the government restrictions on building materials during wartime, Hughes had to be resourceful, yet he was able to build an aircraft six times larger than any aircraft of its time without the use of aluminum or steel. To Hughes’ dismay, the press continued to call it the “Spruce Goose” even though the wooden mammoth is mostly made of birch. (The “Birch Bird” really is almost just as good.)

As Hughes was a notorious perfectionist, the engineering feat was still unfinished by the end of the war. Kaiser dropped out of the costly project, but Hughes continued to slave over his creation, egged on by his pride and the press. Many believed the plane would never fly.

On November 2nd, 1947, during a taxi test off the coast of California, Hughes impulsively piloted his Herculean airboat. It flew for about a mile, only hovering 70 feet above the water, but it still flew. The plane was never airborne again. Today, the Spruce Goose can be visited at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. There it stands as the centerpiece of the museum, a wonder of innovation, aviation, and pride.

Related Tags

Airships Airplanes Aircraft Boats Inventions Technology War History Transportation Museums Aviation Travel Oregon World War Ii Military

Community Contributors

Added By

hcw2rp

Edited By

erjeffery, Meg

  • erjeffery
  • Meg

Published

February 28, 2018

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  • https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2016/december/01/spruce-goose-dominates-oregon-museum
  • http://www.boeing.com/history/products/h-4-flying-boat.page
  • http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/spruce-goose-flies
  • https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/spruce-goose-museum/index.html
  • https://mashable.com/2015/08/21/howard-hughes-plane/#ARnNz2.Fasqx
The Spruce Goose
500 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way
McMinnville, Oregon
United States
45.203889, -123.143333
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

Evergreen Aviation Museum

McMinnville, Oregon

miles away

Erratic Rock State Natural Site

McMinnville, Oregon

miles away

Wheatland Ferry

Salem, Oregon

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of McMinnville

McMinnville

Oregon

Places 3

Nearby Places

Evergreen Aviation Museum

McMinnville, Oregon

miles away

Erratic Rock State Natural Site

McMinnville, Oregon

miles away

Wheatland Ferry

Salem, Oregon

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of McMinnville

McMinnville

Oregon

Places 3

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