Spruce Goose

1947

Howard Hughes, dashing international businessman and philanthropist and yet… as fallible as the rest of us. He designed and built the H-4 Hercules, dubbed “Spruce Goose” by the critics. In its day, it was the largest aircraft ever built. Its purpose was to transport heavy war vehicles and troops to help the World War II effort. Built out of birch wood, it weighed in at over 400,000 pounds and cost some $22 million dollars. In today’s money that would be over $250,000,000.00 per plane! Hughes took over five years to build the Hercules, making her ready for flight just after the war ended. Awesome timing. Although the original plans called for three Spruce Gooses, no other versions of the plane were ever produced. Today she resides in McMinnville, Oregon - home to the Aviation Museum.

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Evergreen Aviation Museum - The Spruce Goose turns 76!