I was recently able to visit the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville, Oregon with my dad, and I thought these photos might be of interest. Notice how the Spruce Goose looms in the background of many of the pictures. Enjoy!

Ryan

It's a great museum. I've probably been there 10 times since I moved to Oregon 5 years ago, and I always find something new to look at.

There is a nice museum in Tillamook as well.

Jim

Wow, thanks for sharing the pictures. I was born in McMinnville, but we moved when I was five. I'm probably going to be in the area this coming summer though to visit family... maybe I can convince the missus to take a bit of a detour? I visited the one in Tillamook when I was a boy living in the Astoria area, and was very impressed at the time... I'd probably be more impressed now. The size of those old dirigible hangers was astounding. It made me feel so small standing in them.

~Jake

I toured the Spruce Goose when it was in San Diego. Nice to see it's got a nice new home!

The B-17 has got to be my all-time favorite. I remember watching the TV series "Twelve o'Clock High" when I was a kid. It made quite an impression and I always wanted to get into one of those things. I finally got to see one up close in Arizona, and saw part of the inside of one being refurbished at Boeing's Renton Plant.

Someday, perhaps, I'll actually get to fly in one.

Was the replica DR1 in there for your trip? IIRC it is a 2/3 scale homebuilt, and man it looked like a blast to fly.....I was last there 2 years ago for a trip out to see my father who retired and moved to Vancouver...(the southern one....) They had started on the second hangar/facility at that time, but it wasn't open yet...

There were some really friendly guys at the flying field out back, and one of them was nice enough to let me grab the radio for a quick flight of his GP Big Stick...

Tim
AG4RZ

Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed the pics. Doubt I'll ever get up that direction any time soon.

-Lee

I went to see the Goose when at Long Beach, CA. Quite an aircraft. That museum was too darkly lit to really enjoy it. It was like walking around in a mausoleum. This museum must be huge to hold not only the Goose but all those others.

Howard Hughes was a true genius. His flying career alone is spectacular, not to mention the aircraft he built. I think it may still hold the record for largest wingspan plane built. It may not carry the load of the C-5, but it's still a big bird.

I am pleased that the Goose has found a good home and hope it stays there for a long time. LBJ

Wow, surprising response!

IFLYOS- Yes, the DR1 replica was there, but hanging in the IMAX building with a Neiuport (11 I think) replica. Currently there are three buildings, the air museum (with the Spruce Goose), the space museum (which we were unable to get to because of time), and the IMAX facility. I saw the RC field out back also, but it was empty when I was there- great field though!

LBJ- actually the building isn't moch bigger than the Goose itself- she fits in the building like a Cessna would fit in a T-hangar. The rest of the planes simply sit underneath the Goose, which itself sits in a 7-foot deep trough in the floor .

And yes, she's still the biggest wingspan

Ryan

I too remember the Goose from Long Beach. Interesting that they restored her to silver. Good choice as they obviously had the bucks. Can you still go up to the flight deck?

My only reservation is having all those other planes clustered around it. I get the feeling it's hard to see the whole thing at once.

Barrett

I got to crawl around the goose when it was at Evergreens turf farm outside McMinnville before they built the museum. it was impressive to be able to stand up and walk in the wings. This was while they had in in sections under a glorified carport.

Soar Dude

Unfortunately I could see much of the plane's interior. They had a 15' sqare platform in the hull that was surrounded by glass, so all I could see is the fore and aft pics I posted. You could see the upper deck, but it was extra $$. Not sure how much was open up there (such as the wings?). Someday we plan to go back and take more time to see the space museum as well as some other places in the region such as the Tillamook museum, so then we'll probably get to the upper deck.

It is kind of hard to see the whole plane as the building isn't much bigger than the Goose itself; to get a picture of the whole thing you have to be outside shooting though the glass front of the building. However having all the other planes underneath it makes a great statement of its size.

Ryan