Officially known as the Hughes Flying Boat, the popular name of "Spruce Goose" was not only despised by the aircraft's builder, Howard Hughes, but was also a misnomer. Most of the huge plane is actually made of birch, with only small amounts of poplar, balsa, and spruce.
Conceived as a personnel and materiel carrier, the Hughes Flying Boat was designed to fly Trans-Atlantic to avoid World War II German submarines, but the war ended before the plane was finished. It flew only one time, on November 2, 1947, in Long Beach Harbor, California, for a total distance of about 3,000 feet.
The "Spruce Goose" remains the largest aircraft ever built, as the figures below testify:
| Wingspan | 319 feet 11 inches |
| Length | 218 feet 8 inches |
| Height | 79 feet 4 inches |
| Weight | 300,000 pounds |
| Capacity | Crew of 18 plus 750 troops |
The "Spruce Goose" now resides in a specially-built hangar at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, in McMinnville, Oregon.
The Robinson Library
Technology.--Motor Vehicles. Aeronautics.
Astronautics.--Aeronautics.
Aeronautical Engineering.--Aircraft
and Aircraft Design.
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