60th Anniversary of Spruce Goose Flight Celebration

The day-long celebration on November 2nd is presented by Pratt & Whitney, it honors the plane's one and only flight.

(MCMINNVILLE, Ore.) - The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is honoring the one and only flight of the world-famous “Spruce Goose” at the flying boat’s home in Oregon. An entire day will be dedicated to the celebration in honor of the Nov. 2nd 1947 flight. Activities will include speaker presentations, special exhibitions and a 1947 themed hangar dance.

In honor of the anniversary, the museum will be opening a new exhibit “Wisconsin Flying Trees” and will feature a 10:00 AM presentation by Sara Witter Connor, titled “Wisconsin Flying Trees: Wisconsin Plywood Industry's Contribution to WWII”.

Presentations will continue throughout the day and will include an 11:00 AM presentation titled “Howard Hughes: Crazy Like a Fox” by George Marrett, Hughes Test Pilot; a 12:00 pm presentation titled “For the Love of the Flying Boat” by Mike Wright, Restoration Project Manager; a 1:00 PM presentation titled “Moving the Spruce Goose from Long Beach Harbor into the Dome” by George Larrazolo, American Riggers; 3:30 PM presentation titled “Connecting the Present to the Past” by Katherine Huit, Historian.

At 6:00 PM, the doors will open to a 1947 Hangar Dance Presented by Pratt & Whitney. Guests will dress in 1940s Hollywood “Glam” attire. The event will include dinner, beverages, dancing and prizes for the best costume. Guests will walk the red carpet and be entertained by Howard Hughes’ look-alike Michael Parris Newman. Reservations are required for the hangar dance. To order tickets, please call 503-434-4068.

The centerpiece of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is the world-famous Hughes Flying Boat Spruce Goose. With a wingspan of nearly 320 feet, it dwarfs even the DC-3 that resides under its left wing. Originally created as a flying cargo and troop carrier, the Spruce Goose was designed by Howard Hughes and promoted by Henry Kaiser. It was created as a solution to the German U Boat threat during World War II.

On November 2nd 1947, after two taxi tests, Howard Hughes lowered the flaps and the Hughes Flying Boat lifted off the water for the first and last time. After its flight, the Flying Boat was then placed in its custom built hangar and maintained in flight-ready condition for 33 years at a cost of one million dollars per year.

In 1976, after Hughes' death, plans were made to disassemble the plane and send the parts to eight museums around the world for display. But before carrying out the plan, the Aero Club of Southern California partnered with the Wrather Corporation to display the plane intact in a custom dome next to the RMS Queen Mary at Long Beach.

In 1992, Evergreen International Aviation was awarded custody of the Hughes Flying Boat. It was disassembled and moved by barge, train and truck to Evergreen's headquarters in McMinnville, OR. Between 1992 and 2000, the massive parts underwent preservation and restoration at the hands of volunteers while plans were made for its new hangar.