With my BS being in Aerospace Engineering, it is very hard for me not to be attracted to great aviation stories, and the story of the Spruce Goose is one of those stories.
The recent ASME SmartBrief article provides some very startling specifications associated with the Spruce Goose, the largest seaplane ever built. Katherine Huit, once the director of the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon where the Spruce Goose is located, says it all, “It is ginormous!” I love that word as it describes the Spruce Goose perfectly.
Why does such a large seaplane exist when it only flew during its first test flight for half a minute 25 feet off the water after reaching 80 mph? The answer is the name of one man, Howard Hughes. The Spruce Goose was to be an alternative to cargo ships which were being sunk by German U-boats. Unfortunately, the complexity of the design, especially with a bonded wood called Duramold since aluminum was scarce, caused this first test flight to take place in 1947, long after WWII was over and aluminum was no longer in short supply.
For aviation enthusiasts, this is a must read article. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. – Dr. Tom
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