Winged wonders: Howard Hughes's famed Spruce Goose lives again in Oregon - aircraft - Brief Article

Sunset, Dec, 2001 by Bonnie Henderson

Its wingspan is wider than a football field, and its tail fin is taller than a four-story building. But mere statistics cannot prepare you for your first encounter with the breathtakingly big Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes's legendary plane. Having flown but once, for just 90 minutes in 1947, Hughes Flying Boat is now the centerpiece of a new aviation museum on the outskirts of McMinnville, southwest of Portland.

Evergreen Aviation Museum acquired the Spruce Goose from the Aero Club of Southern California, disassembled it, and had it shipped by barge to Oregon in 1992. Through its museum and educational institute, Evergreen has been restoring and reassembling the Spruce Goose ever since.

It and the other aircraft on display in the towering 121,000-square-foot museum tell the story of aviation history beginning with a full-size replica of the 1903 Wright brothers' first flyable plane--a marvel of ash, birch, and unbleached muslin. The collection of more than 40 aircraft includes commercial planes such as the 1928 Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor Tin Goose, as well as early private aircraft. But the lion's share of the planes are World War II military aircraft, from a 1943 Boeing-Stearman biplane to the pride of the Luftwaffe, a 1944 Messerschmitt Bf. 109 G-10 Gustav. Museum officials plan to display planes--many of which are still flyable--on a rotating basis.

You can get a decent lunch in the museum's Spruce Goose Cafe, but for more options, seek out McMinnville's charming historic downtown a few minutes north. An influx of wineries in the area has resulted in a slew of good restaurants, plus the McMenamins Hotel Oregon and a handful of worthwhile shops.

Evergreen Aviation Museum: 9-5 daily; $9.3685 NE. Three Mile Lane, off State 18; (503) 434-4180 or www.sprucegoose.org.