Spruce Goose has a new home

Flight Journal, Apr 2001 by Gosling, Peter

Until recently, Howard Hughes' HK-1 Spruce Goose was housed in a giant greenhouse-preserved, and in sectionson a 200-acre site near the McMinnville Municipal Airport, 38 miles southwest of Portland, Oregon. While its new home-the Air Venture museum-was being built, our only glimpses of the Spruce Goose were through protective plastic sheets.

Evergreen Intl. formed in the 1960s by Delford Smith, a collector of classic aircraft-is now creating the enclosed space that will house the HK-1 and numerous historic aircraft. The collection's final home will be 10 stories high and will be the center of the 121,000-square-foot Capt. Michael King Smith Evergreen Aviation Educational Center (built as a tribute to Delford's son, who was killed in an auto accident). The exhibition space will feature a very striking 40,000-square-foot glass window.

Construction went so well that on September 16, 2000, the HK-l's main parts were taken to their new home. The aircraft will be reassembled for the facility's opening this year. For more information, visit the www.sprucegoose.org website.