Evergreen Aviation Museum - Home of the SPRUCE GOOSE
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The Hughes Hercules Flying Boat (Spruce Goose) now resides in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Seen outside the museum is a C-47 transport plane.One of the great things about this museum is the way they document their aircraft displays. Many of them not only have a placard explaining the type of plane and general information, but also a placard about the history of the specific aircraft in front of you.The Hughes Hercules Flying Boat dwarfs the other planes and exhibits which swarm around it like gnats inside the building.The Hercules Flying Boat has a wingspan of over 300 feet and weighs about 200 tons.A photo display shows Hughes inspecting part of the massive planes internal equipment.
A photo display shows the craft in the water during trials in 1947.Visitors watch a video about the planes construction and flight in a small theater underneath one of the giant wing floats. Its amazing to realize that 200 tons of birch plywood that was assembled almost fifty years ago is towering over you anywhere you go inside this museum.Eight 3000 horsepower piston engines power the Hercules. Although state of the art at the time, they may not have been enough for this massive machine. At its expected cruising speed of 200 mph and its expected cruising fuel consumption of 109 gallons per hour per engine, it would have been burning over 4 gallons per mile travelled.A cutaway engine sits near the front of the plane. The other side is open to the core.Compare the size of the engines and props to the people on the floor. Those huge wings are not supported by anthing but their original mountings to the fuselage.
Historic photos show the plane emerging from the factory for the trip to Long Beach for final assembly and testing. The Flying Boat makes a turn. Many power lines had to be moved to allow the big bird to pass. Children were even let out of school to watch its progress.Hughes confers with engineers on the flight deck. The museum building is over 120 feet tall and covers over 120,000 square feet.A DC-3 transport plane fits under its wing like a bathtub toy.
One of the many interesting planes to be found at the museum. A 1967 Grumman Mohawk.A Soviet space capsule.An engine from a commercial jet liner.The museum`s Ford Tri-Motor has undergone a very expensive restoration.More information on the Ford Tri-Motor.
Volunteer restorers constantly upgrade and improve the exhibits, here the Ford Tri-Motor.The signature currogated skin of these 1920s era craft really sets them apart. This plane actually had to be reskinned to put it back in original trim.Side view of the venerable Tri-Motor.Many toys fit an a garage this size.An aptly named 1966 de Havilland Vampire.
The tail of the Hercules, and a few other objects for size reference.An SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.A Cletrac tractor.Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.Rumor has it that a previous owner of this B-17 had to buy a saloon to get this ball turret. They are hard to come by and the guy who had the turret had installed it over his bar and would not sell it. The whole bar was supposedly purchased and then resold without the ball turret.
1945 Corsair fighter.This WWI era Jenny replica shows just how far aviation has come.This Curtis P-30 Warhawk wears the famous Flying Tigers paint scheme.The Allison V-12 aircraft engine was the power plant of choice for tractor pullers, etc. for years. The supply was pretty well used up, leaving them rare and valuable.A Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
Another view of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.North American P-51 Mustang.Bede BD-5 kit plane.Another view of the tiny Bede BD-5.A legendary German ME-109.
Another view of the ME-109.Read about the friendly, safe bomb.Here is the friendly, safe bomb in person.The British Supermarine Spitfire.Another size reference view of the Hercules.
Outside the building sits a Convair F-102 Delta Dagger.A jumble of planes, high and low.A Pitts Special acrobatic plane hangs upside down.Info on the Pitts Special.The little 7 foot boat near the front of the plane is made of the same DuraMold material as the plane. It weighs 56 pounds and was made by Hughes Aircraft.