McMinnville is about 45 miles southwest of downtown Portland. It’s a fairly sleepy small city in Oregon’s wine-growing region around the Willamette Valley. Yet the town has a big surprise for most tourists — an amazing aerospace museum complex, consisting of two separate buildings — one dedicated to aviation and flight, and the other dedicated to space travel. There are also buildings with a large screen theater, and one which is home to a water amusement park. They are all privately owned.
This post is just focused on the Aviation Museum. I’ll be doing a separate writeup on the Space Museum soon.
The Evergreen Aviation Museum opened in 1991 and is best known as the home of the world’s largest wooden flying plane, the famous “Spruce Goose” (Hughes H-4 Hercules). There are also dozens of other historic aircraft on display.
(the gigantic Spruce Goose can be seen through the museum’s windows)
(model of the Spruce Goose in the foreground, with the real plane seen in the background)
The museum was founded by Michael K. Smith, a former captain in the United States Air Force. He was the son of Evergreen International Aviation founder Delford M. Smith. Though it has changed hands, the museum is still a private institution but apparently is affiliated with the Smithsonian.
The SPRUCE GOOSE:
By far the most interesting exhibit — one that it’s worth going out of your way to see — is the “Spruce Goose”. It’s a unique aircraft with a fascinating backstory, and its sheer size dominates the aviation museum.
The plane was developed and designed as a solution to a problem, namely the danger German U-boats posed to the safe transport of World War II soldiers and supplies into Europe. Industrialist and shipbuilder Henry Kaiser collaborated with Howard Hughes — a colorful character who was an engineer, test pilot, movie mogul and multimillionaire. Because of the wartime restriction on metal, the men intended to build a plane without using aluminum or steel. The aircraft was mostly made of birch, even though the nickname “Spruce Goose” caught on. It was four times larger than any aircraft built at the time but is of about comparable size to the Airbus A380.
The war ended before construction of the “Spruce Goose” was completed. Kaiser dropped out of the project, but Hughes continued to work on the plane, mostly as a matter of personal pride. Many doubted that the plane would ever fly. In November 1947, during a taxi test, off the coast of California, Hughes impulsively lifted the massive plane off the water, and it flew about a mile roughly 70 feet above sea level. He landed the plane, and it never flew again. But he had proven his point — the wooden plane could fly!
You can learn more about the Spruce Goose and see its only flight in the following video:
The plane was in storage in a specially designed hanger for over 33 years. After Hughes’ death in 1976, it was put on display in a separate structure in Long Beach, California, adjoining the Queen Mary. It was sold to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville and after dismantling it was shipped by sea and road, slowly making its way to Oregon. Here, after an extensive restoration, it proudly stands as the museum’s central attraction.
(Some photos detailing the move of the Spruce Goose from Long Beach to Oregon — taken from a display at the Evergreen Aviation Museum)
The plane stands in the middle of the museum, so you have the opportunity to see it from all perspectives. There is a staircase leading into the belly of the aircraft, so that you can appreciate its cavernous interior.
(a small portion of the interior of the Spruce Goose)
An extra fee will allow you to enter the cockpit as part of a guided tour. My wife and I had seen the cockpit decades earlier when it was on display in Long Beach, so we passed on this option.
(cockpit area of the Spruce Goose)
Last weekend’s One Clue Mystery photo (see below) featured a photo from the museum, with an upside-down aircraft in front of the Spruce Goose. Congratulations to George G, the only one who recognized where we were.
THE REST of the museum:
There are a lot of other planes and other items on display — so many that it’s not possible to see everything in one visit. You can see copies of the Wright Brother Flyer and the Spirit of St. Louis, as well as a large variety of military and commercial aircraft, including planes made in Russia and Germany. There are even a few old cars.
The aircraft display begins even before you enter the building, with a huge 747 parked in a vineyard near the entryway.
A sampling of other aircraft on display outside:
(retired plane from the Blue Angels aerobatic squad)
(Douglas C47 plane that took part in the D-day invasion)
The collection includes interactive displays, airliner seats in which to watch videos or just rest, and of course dozens and dozens of planes. Rather than provide a long narrative on some of the other aircraft, I’ve included photos of a number of those that caught my eye.
(replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer)
(DeHavilland DH4 Liberty Plane)
(Vans RV6)
(Douglas A4 Skyhawk)
(Huey Helicopter)
(Republic F105G Thunderchief )
(DC-3, one of the oldest in existence)
(Grumman G21A Goose)
(MiG 17 Fresco)
(Messerschmidt A1A Schwalbe)
(1930s Ford Model A)
If you love the history of aviation, this is a museum you can’t miss. And for those with less interest in aircraft it’s worth visiting just to see the historic Spruce Goose.
