I have seen with mine own eyes the largest wooden airplane that doesn't fly. It is incredible. Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose is in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Due to wartime restrictions on the use of aluminum, Hughes' flying boat was made out of birch wood. (But Birch Goose doesn't sound as daunting a nickname from critics. Somehow rhyming makes a better taunt, despite the sacrifice of accuracy.)
First flight: 2 Nov. 1947
Retired: 2 Nov 1947
Size: Incredibly immense. I took 2 pictures because it wouldn't fit in my camera frame.
During a Senate hearing on 6 Aug 1947 in the first of a series of appearances, Hughes said:
| “ | The Hercules was a monumental undertaking. It is the largest aircraft ever built. It is over five stories tall with a wingspan longer than a football field. That's more than a city block. Now, I put the sweat of my life into this thing. I have my reputation all rolled up in it and I have stated several times that if it's a failure I'll probably leave this country and never come back. And I mean it. |
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