It's a Team's Life
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, OR
Main attraction is the Hughes H-4 Hercules or better known as the Spruce Goose. Howard Hughes detested the nickname "Spruce Goose†and the other not so famous nickname "Flying Lumberyard". The museum is located in McMinnville, OR and is easily accessible by a tractor-trailer with plenty of parking. The Museum was established in 1991 and is impressive, featuring a water park in one building, the Spruce Goose and other older planes in another building, with one more large building featuring Space.
The Spruce Goose took up residence in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in 1993 and was once again on display to the public in 2001. The "Goose" made the journey from Long Beach, CA to McMinnville, OR in 38 major pieces by boats with the last seven miles by trucks.
The building that houses the "Goose" was designed around the "Gooses dimensions and once the body of the plane was inside the wings where then reattached. With a wingspan of 320', and a length of 218' and a height of over 79' this is a big building. The front and rear of the green building consists of glass panes and they are very impressive and provide a very nice frame for the plane.
Some of the facts about the H-4 Hercules is that the plane is made of mostly birch wood and was built by carpenters. . Carpenters built the plane as the government had placed restrictions on the funds saying that the builder due to wartime restrictions could not use aluminum or skilled aircraft builders. Hughes used carpenters and a process called Duramold. The process used 1/32 wood veneer, laid in alternating wood grain directions for strength and glued them together and then shaped the pieces using steam. It was impossible for me to tell the plane was not made of metal. The completed cost of the plane was around $23 million in 1946 and flew one time at a height of 70' about the water for one mile at a cruise speed of 135 mph. The Spruce Goose was never used for the intended purpose that was to transport troops and war material.
The Spruce Goose had on board around 450 beach balls that
were strategically placed with the theory that if the plane went down the balls
would help the "Goose" to float.
Our tour guide also discussed when the plane flew it did not have a fire
suppressant system.
This must have been
of concern for Hughes so he had eight firefighters with fire extinguishers in
the wings of the plane hanging on for dear life to put out any fires.
What a flight they must have had.
Another plane that caught my imagination was the Ford Trimotor also nicknamed "The Tin Goose". This plane was designed for passenger use and while it looked pretty neat it sounds as if the passengers really suffered. The fresh air intakes for the riders consisted of opening a vent to the outside of the plane. The problem with this is that the exhaust for the engines also ran along side of the plane. The plane was used and billed as a transcontinental flight that consisted of short flights and then transferring to rail and then back to the airport to board the plane.
We paid $25 each to tour the museums and watch one
movie.
We were able to take guided tours
for free and we found the tours to be worth our time.
Seeing the Spruce Goose in person was one
more item off of the bucket list!
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters 8 years been out here on the road 13 years
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.