Howard Hughes‘ Spruce Goose now rests in McMinnville, at the Evergreen Aviation Museum.
The Goose is as long as a 747 with a wingspan a third again as broad, and for a short few seconds in 1947, it flew.
The docent was incredibly pleased to tell us that the tail almost broke off during those few seconds in the air. He claimed Hughes hushed up the story and maintained the aircraft in flight-ready condition to protect himself from further attacks from government accountants.
The turbine below is one of a number on display, including one from an SR71 Blackbird. The rest of the Blackbird crouches under the Goose’s port wing.
