The Spruce Goose

If you like planes or if you have seen the movie “The Aviator” then you have heard about the Spruce Goose.

The Spruce Goose is the biggest wooden plane/flying-boat ever built and its wingspan is the largest of all planes in history (yes, even larger than a Boeing 747-400).

Because of it size and weight, it took eight 3,000 horse power engines to make it fly.

The Spruce Goose was designed and constructed by Hughes Aircraft Co., and it was only flown once by its designer Howard Hughes. In the movie “The Aviator” this is the large plane that Howard Hughes flies toward the end of the movie.

Often referred as the Hughes Hercules, the Spruce Goose is currently located at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, OR. The design, construction and successful flight of the plane was an important milestone in the aviation industry and for this reason, in 2002 the American Society of Mechanical Engineer (ASME) declared the plane as a Historical Mechanical Engineering Landmark.

For all of you interested, I strongly recommend to go see this plane to get an idea of all the engineering challenges that were overcome to make it fly. If you are a mechanical engineer, this plane is a must see. In addition to the Spruce Goose, the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum offers a wide range of attractions in aerospace technology and if you are interested you can easily spent an entire day here.