Spruce Goose staying put

[rickstef]

Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose will remain in Oregon museum | Fox News

Seems like some legal wranglings will need to be resolved.
But the airplane and the rest of the collection will stay in Oregon

[JohnM]

Now that's something I'd love to see in the air.

[whulsey]

That's good to hear. Its too good of a collection in a great facility to be broken up. Now I need to get my photos edited and posted from my visit last year. Here's my photos from when I was there in 2010. 2010-07-19 OR Evergreen Air Museum - whulsey

[murphyaa]

Somebody at Fox needs to do better research:

"Dubbed the "flying boat," the Spruce Goose has a 320-foot wingspan and floats that allows it on land and water."

Don't think it can land on land with out a few flatbed trailers parked under it.


I wouldn't complain if they donated the Spruce Goose to Pima.

[JohnM]

Give 'em some credit Aaron. They do say "allows it on Land and water" not that it can "land on land or water". Very few "Flying boats" could. Even the famous PBY didn't develop proper retractable landing wheels until pretty late in it's development. I'm led to believe that the Goose did have it's own retractable beaching gear though, which is what they are probably referring to. I do believe that the pre war Grumman Goose did have retractable landing wheels ... but again, they were probably originally fitted as a retractable beaching gear.

[-Jim G]

In other news, the Martin Mars is still stuck at Sproat Lake as its transfer to the National Museum of Naval Aviation [Pensacola] is being blocked by authorities in Canada:

B.C. fires: Martin Mars water bomber coming out of retirement - British Columbia - CBC News

Ottawa shoots down plans to ship historic warplane to U.S. | CTV News

[Richschindler]

Ahh, got to see the spruce goose twice while it was in long Beach. What an amazing aircraft. Couldn't get a real perspective of how big it was until you were up close, or inside it. I'd love to see it once again.
They had a pretty neat setup there in Long Beach, nice big air conditioned dome.

[JohnM]

Some time back now I got to have a walk round inside a Sunderland. It looked huge from the outside, but I was surprised to find how cramped and compact it was inside. I guess it must be pretty thick skinned (Well, it's a Brit ennit!).

I'm still trying to negotiate an internal recce of the PBY-5a they've got in the RAF Museum at Cosford, but the office girl tells me that even the museum staff aren't allowed in it now. I've offered to personally transport a mob of twenty paying customers to the museum from Wales, but she says the best she can offer is to allow me (just me and under strict supervision) to step over the rope to take a photo though the bomb aimer's window, but I wouldn't be allowed to walk around the plane.

It's gotta be the last PBY on earth that's still got it's front gun turret and camouflage paint intact, but the way it's positioned on display, doesn't allow for any decent pictures. I wonder if I can smuggle my video drone in there? Hmm, guess I'd better larn ta fly the damn thing first though.

[dto]

My father passed away six years ago, but he was one of the technicians who installed the air conditioning units inside the Spruce Goose dome in Long Beach. (Dad also worked on the building where the Space Shuttles were assembled in Palmdale, and most of the battleships, aircraft carriers and submarines serviced at the long-closed Long Beach Naval Shipyard.) He and his work partner took a peek inside the Goose before it was sealed, and walked UPRIGHT inside the wing behind the engines. Dad even briefly sat in Howard's pilot seat before security shooed them out. ;-)

Until his waning days, Dad always expressed astonishment at the HUGE size of the Spruce Goose. He saw a lot of things during his lifetime, but that made a deep impression.

David T. Okamura

[Pgtaylorart]

I saw it in Long Beach also. If you have an opportunity to see it, don't pass it up! You really can't appreciate its size until you see it in person.