When the 'Spruce Goose' Took Flight

Howard Hughes' giant wooden seaplane took its first flight 75 years ago.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 04:19 PM ET

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November 2, 2022, marks the 75th anniversary of the one and only flight of the Hughes Flying Boat, the so-called 'Spruce Goose.' [Courtesy: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum Collections]

Key Takeaways:

The Hughes Flying Boat, famously known as the "Spruce Goose," was a massive wooden aircraft designed by Howard Hughes during World War II to transport supplies using non-strategic materials.
Despite its immense cost ($23 million) and congressional scrutiny, the aircraft made only one brief, 30-second flight on November 2, 1947, and never flew again.
Today, the H-4 Hercules is the crown jewel and centerpiece of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, where the building was literally designed around it.
The museum is dedicated to preserving the iconic aircraft, dispelling common myths about it, and conducting ongoing fundraising for its long-term structural and material integrity.

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November 2, 2022, marks the 75th anniversary of the one and only flight of the Hughes Flying Boat, the so-called Spruce Goose. The massive machine is the crown jewel of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. The one-of-a-kind aircraft is the centerpiece of the museum in a building that was—quite literally—designed around it. And you better believe the museum is celebrating the 75th anniversary.

The Hughes Flying Boat

The aircraft was first conceived during World War II, when there was a growing need to get men and supplies over to England and Allied ships were being sunk at an alarming rate by German submarines.