The Spruce Goose

This massive plane was built by Howard Hughes during WW2 as a heavy transport for troops.  With the wartime restrictions on the use of aluminum, the plane was built about 95 percent out of wood.  It was therefore nicknamed the Spruce Goose and is the largest flying boat ever built with a wingspan 100 feet wider than a 747.  The Goose was to be used for a transport to carry 750 troops and gear but the war ended before it was finished.  The Government put 18 million in this project and Hughes finished it with 7 million of his own.  Many critics said that it would never fly and in 1947 Hughes proved them all wrong by flying it himself.  I climbed into this historic plane 15 years ago in Long Beach California when it was on display next to the Queen Mary.  Now I'm sitting in the same pilots seat that Hughes sat in.  The Goose is now on display in McMinnville Oregon at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum.  Next to me is my brother Dan who lives close by in Albany Oregon.  Album posted on Facebook.