Spruce Goose: The LARGEST Plane Ever Made!

[@MentourNow]

Go to ground.news/mentour to get worldwide coverage on Boeing, aviation safety and more. Subscribe through my link for 40% off unlimited access this month.

[@jarvisjohns]

21:51 this is obviously an AI-generated picture. I figured that this channel was better than that and only wanted to share truth and not fabrication.

[@splifstar85]

Soviet Union’s supplies through the “land lease” amounted to about 5% of the total equipment and other supplies used for the war… So as much as the western propaganda tries to claim that they had any significant role in the war against the brown plague - it really didn’t.. (I mean Standard Oil also supplied the Luftwffe with kerosine at the same time) And the only reason why the Normandy landing took place is because the Soviets were about to crash the na.. is and the Americans wanted to occupy at least some part of Europe… That is why for the long 3 years (1941-1944) all the calls to the British and Americans to open the second front fell on deaf ears… coz in reality they actually wished that the Germans won 🤷‍♂️

[@Premier-Media-Group]

Thank you for not pitching BetterHelp for this episode!

[@kurtvanluven9351]

Can't turn trees into a transport. What is your take on Melvin Dummar, and the fuss over Howard's will? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Dummar

[@31terikennedy]

@@splifstar85 How many Lend Lease trucks were provided?

[@SueBobChicVid]

Kind of a throwback to see you on the sofa. Brings back memories of the dogs.

[@Nick-b7b9s]

Same crappy sofa too😂 mentour hasn't sold out!

[@radudeATL]

And It’s a lovely sofa. It’s just missing the classic red and green pillows…

[@Nick-b7b9s]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIKxaYiKgbGIZq8si=C1yNdDiKlDdOF3h0 the spruce moose😂

[@sylviamckenna8687]

Need a doggie cameo in next video!!

[@zakkhan3270]

Bro those videos were the best

[@TiptronicSS]

I like the "house" setting, it's like "grandpa, tell us a story" setting. 😄 feels natural to me like the early videos.

[@MentourNow]

Great! I was filming it from my vacation home in Sweden.. it’s very rural

[@TiptronicSS]

@MentourNow I love it! I prefer it over behind the desk video's. Which are fine, but this is more relaxed (for both 😄) More recording from Sweden!

[@logic.and.reasoning]

Time for a green screen... 😅

[@cherriberri8373]

​@vanzell1912 yeah everyone goes senile before death. Shocker. But sure, use the guy to try and reinforce your judgemental and petty world views, why don't you.

[@Kostis05cy]

Any new aviation accident videos coming out or is it vacation time?​@@MentourNow

[@danielbarreiro8228]

And why would ships traditionally moored on the 'port' side? Because before they had central rudders, ships had steering oars hanging out from one side which had to be kept away from the pier to avoid entangling or breaking it. That oar was known as the 'steer board'. One side of the ship became the 'steer board side' and the other the 'port side'' and later became 'starboard' and 'port'.

[@MentourNow]

Awesome fact!

[@molybdomancer195]

I checked this with the OED and you are right. So many explanations of word origins online are wrong so I always check

[@SukhdevSingh-ge5rj]

🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ starboard side and port side 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡

[@calvinnickel9995]

Thanks! I knew the origins of starboard but I had no idea that that was the reason for port. Makes sense.

[@jehoiakimelidoronila5450]

I assume that steer board is right side because almost everyone is right-hand dominant. Makes sense. Thanks for the info, man. The things we learn everyday 😄

[@diablouser]

My father worked for Hughes Aircraft. He was employee number 32 or 33. He graduated from Carnegie Tech as a Aircraft structural engineer. He had numerous involvements with Howard himself, including related to the Spruce goose, the lead engineer for the structural design of the fuselage. he also was the Hughes representative at Fairchild when they built the wings and tail section of the twin engine recon aircraft. He taught Howard structural engineering one night in Howards kitchen, and said that it was scary how fast he picked up the ideas. After that overnight session, you couldn’t pull any wool over his eyes on structural design. My mother was the secretary for the production manager to Hughes Aircraft . Howard paid for their honeymoon when, almost without any warning, he sent five people to do the design for the flying boxcar for another company. When my father was in New York working on the reconnaissance job, my mother couldn’t get to New York from LA because she had two cats. Hughes put her, the cats and a servant on a i’m a railroad carriage. He had numerous other interactions with Hughes until he finally resigned about three months before World War II ended. To do that he had to get permission from Hughes to resign and Hughes flow him from New York to LA and put him up with the cottages at the I forget the name of it restaurant hotel in Hollywood.

[@2nd2nun702]

My great uncle was Glenn Odekirk. I don't know if he even had an "employee #" but if he did it would have been 1 or 2 as he was Howard's right hand man. I'm afraid to tell you that your story sounds very exaggerated which for whatever reason is very common when it comes Howard Hughes. It seems like many people have some story to tell.

[@bradkane793]

@@diablouser I worked for Hughes employee #108331. I was a supervisor of an employee that was taken out of the lab to go to Long Beach because he knew how to remove the H-4 wings for transport to Oregon

[@Razmatschannel]

How old are you???

[@stianby]

Well. Living in a fantasy world are we?

[@dipling.pitzler7650]

These Memories are worth to be put in a book!

[@RubyS.1]

This is a nice little treat for a Monday morning

[@MentourNow]

Enjoy!

[@Monotoba]

I actually met an old man who had been an engineer on the Hercules project. After we spoke for a few hours about aviation, he excused himself for a few minutes and returned with a concept drawing of the HK-1. He gave it to me and I charished for years before losing it to a house fire. In that fire I also lost a historic issue of Radio Electronics, and Altair 8800, and many model aircraft I had built growing up. The concept drawing had the signatures of many of the engineers and I was told that when the project ended, everyone who had worked on the project took all the momentoes they could carry because they all knew they had worked on something extremly special.

[@bradkane793]

I worked at Hughes Aircraft and my wife was an FA at Pan Am. So you incorporated both of our heritage in this video. Thanks

[@sqwk2559]

That’s not heritage, that’s experience.

[@bradkane793]

@@sqwk2559 the most experienced airline. Lol

[@connielentz1114]

I saw the spruce goose as a child and my sense of its size may have been affected by my own small size but it seemed massive. For some reason years later when I saw the Vasa, also made of wood, it made me think of the Spruce Goose

[@lordlundin6495]

I got to touch the Vasa - with gloves. The perks of being blind are few, but I'll take my wins where I can. Luckily back then I had enough vision to appreciate it visually as well.

[@wiredforstereo]

It's still massive. But it is also beautiful in a way no other plane is.

[@gregorymeyer1798]

I grew up and lived in Long Beach the first 34 years of my life, and the spruce goose was a regular part of life. Most schools had field trips to see it and many families went on a regular basis. I always thought it was awesome.

[@MentourNow]

Very cool!

[@neilkurzman4907]

Many decades ago, I drove to Long Beach to see the Spruce goose, and the Queen Mary

[@isabellind1292]

@@neilkurzman4907Awesome, people! I am so glad this aircraft was preserved! Mr. Hughes didn't like the name "Spruce Goose." It was made out of birch. 😊RIP Mr. Hughes.❤🌹

[@road2somewhere1]

I visited the Evergreen Air Museum and found it amazing how all of the other aircraft were so completely dwarfed by it. After spending time observing all of the other aircraft I had the strange sensation that it wasn’t even there. It was as though it was part of the whole structure of the building. Being a woodworking hobbyist I found the wood structure and joinery fascinating too. It’s worth a visit.

[@gonetoearth2588]

Your series on historic planes is better than high cost production on television. These are exceptionally well-made short documentaries. Love your analysis of accidents as I’m a pilot however I really love the series of these historic planes and keep the videos coming! Thx petter

[@martentrudeau6948]

In the 1980's I saw the Spruce Goose in Long Beach, Ca, it was impressive. Hughes wood technology ideas would eventually succeed with companies like Trus Joist who manufacture wood "I" floor joists and other products. Hughes was interesting, an oil man, aviator, movie director, aircraft designer, manufacturer and more than this.

[@Mentaculus42]

It should be mentioned that this aircraft pioneered the use of power boosted control surfaces. There were technical developments for this aircraft that were new for this time period.

[@cayman9873]

I was on the plane and on the queen mary many times, they were amazing

[@Sailit143]

When I used to work for McDonnell Douglas Helicoper, I used to work in Bldg 15, which was the building where the Spruce Goose was built in Culver City, CA when Hughes developed the property. The building was constructed using the same lamination techniques. At one time it was the biggest free standing structure in the world. The building is now owned by Google. I loved this video. Please keep them coming.

[@ElderNames]

Hughes may not have produced any series airplanes, but they did produce helicopters which are still being produced by three companies today - Boeing (Apache and Little Bird), MD Helicopters (the commercial models spun off by Boeing after acquiring McDonnell Douglas), and Schweizer RSG.

[@kenbrown2808]

I have, indeed been to visit the Spruce Goose, it bears mentioning that the museum she lives in was in its own way the product of an aviation lover whose businesses ran into trouble, yet took a loss in his business to be sure the museum stayed alive. and it has a lot more of aviation and space exploration represented than just the Goose.

[@muddobber6863]

I've been there as well. It's a nice complex.

[@Derkiboi]

​@@muddobber6863and next to a building with a 747 on top of it. Such a strange place

[@CheckSixAviation]

@@DerkiboiThat would be the museum’s water park.

[@Derkiboi]

@@CheckSixAviation correct, I've been there. All of the 4 slides go through the 747

[@markpirisky2281]

@@CheckSixAviationthe museum doesn’t actually own the water park fyi. It is run by a separate company.

[@MarkJoseph81]

I've sat in the cockpit pilot's seat of THIS airplane. It is in the Evergreen Air & Space Museum. You can, too! It is truly something to behold... I can't type it all out here. You have to make the trip to go see it in person for yourself. (While you're there, there's also MiGs and an actual SR-71!)

[@dvines972]

Me too... so fun to see that plane. We love visiting the Evergreen Air & Space Museum.

[@willykang1293]

Many different aircrafts out there, that’s why I think there’re not enough time to gain all the infos in that museum in just one day.🤔

[@kristensorensen2219]

Are you a pilot? I need to go see this stuff in person too!

[@MarkJoseph81]

@willykang1293 There's not... I know... because I literally spent the entire day there - from the minute they opened, until 5-10 minutes past closing! 😄 And I went to almost every building, but we rushed through the final chunk because they were closing. I took over 1000 photos! 😄

[@cayman9873]

Saw it many times next to the queen mary in long beach. Hughes was a unique man. Thanks howard for many amazing things. This plane, glomar explorer. I sat in the captains seat several times in awe.

[@davidbeattie4294]

I personally consider it a huge success. Hughes managed to create a unique and groundbreaking aircraft under war time conditions in a remarkably short time frame. The fact that the need for it disappeared is not the fault of Hughes.

[@IvanSerbinenko]

Funny story, was still a PPL Student when I was on a Cross Country flight with my Instructor from BC, Canada to California. One of our over night stays was McMinnville Oregon, right across the airport was this Air and Space museum, we thought it'd be cool to check out before we went to the hotel. Imagine the shock we had when we realized the Spruce Goose was at the museum. Was an awesome experience, tons of pictures, funny how those things just happen

[@HeadbangerTomcat]

I was fortunate enough to have visited the Spruce Goose back in 1984, when it was still in Long Beach, California, in its giant display dome, next to the RMS Queen Mary ocean liner. Very impressive.

[@MissElisabeth]

My grandfather saw the Spruce Goose fly when he was in med school down in California after WWII. I've seen it in person in Oregon and can't even fathom how impressive it would have been to see it fly in person.

[@rswear]

I have seen the Spruce Goose in McMinnville. I am not sure what was more fascinating to me, the plane itself or seeing my Dad in his late 70's being giddy like a kid getting to see it for the 1st time. I always knew he was an aviation buff, but had no idea how much it captured his imagination when he was growing up. Tho I have to admit, seeing the SR-71 setting by it caught my attention too!

[@asheler1]

I have seen the Spruce Goose many times and sat in the cockpit at least twice. I live only about an hour away from the Evergreen Aviation Museum.

[@thomasmontoya302]

I appreciate you making this on holiday!

[@bens4446]

I saw it in Long Beach when I was little. I couldn't understand why something so marvelous and perfect had only been allowed to fly one brief flight, and then had been hidden away and left to languish. The adult world never seemed stranger to me.

[@jonathanadnitt7704]

Me to, in 86 in the giant dome next to the the Queen Mary , which i also went on.

[@bens4446]

@@jonathanadnitt7704 Yeah, went on the QM too. I was really disappointed when I found out that the ship wasn't going to go anywhere.

[@wiredforstereo]

On of the things that struck me about seeing it in person is its beauty and shape. No other plane is as smooth and refined. It is remarkable.

[@LoneStarMillennial]

Not new to these topics at all but I've never seen them woven together so perfectly in one place before. You are the best!

[@attorneyrobert]

I had a chance to visit the Spruce Goose and visit the cockpit in 1990 when it was in Long Beach. My father, who was present when the first flight took place (he worked at Los Angeles Harbor in San Pedro) was there also. It was impressive to walk around inside of.

[@TheKaptainkraig]

I got to sit in the pilots seat of the H4 back in 2014. The Evergreen air and space museum was by far the best aviation museum I've visited. Definitely worth the 4 hour drive from Seattle.

[@logic.and.reasoning]

WE WANT THE CARBON GOOSE..!!!! 😊 Howard was a "special" type of person. OCD can be a helping or hindering affliction, i know. His obsessions, especially with what i believe he saw as his most complex challenge and therefore truly his "child," could be costly but extremely rewarding. Amazing man. Weird but amazing 😊

[@VinceVDC]

I lived in Oregon when the Goose was moved. It was shipped down the Willamette River on barges. The tail barely fit under several of the bridges. The Evergreen Aviation museum prides itself on maintaining the air worthiness of all of the planes in its collection. The Goose dwarfs all of the other aircraft in the collection. It's an hour south of Portland and worth the drive. I hope to make it to the museum on a day to the engines are tested. The television show Leverage featured the Goose in one of their episodes.

[@AZ-if2mj]

I got to see the Spruce Goose on a field trip in elementary school. It was in a gigantic white dome next to the Queen Mary in Long Beach. It was a magical day for a kid.

[@unsivilaudio]

OMG You covered it! This is my favorite plane ever built.

[@martentrudeau6948]

I agree, if H-1 Hercules had been made of Aluminum, that would have changed history. Post war transport and passenger planes would used the knowledge gained from the Hercules to build the new post war aircraft, it also "utilized a pioneering hydraulic flight control system due to its immense size, which made conventional mechanical controls impractical".

[@plastictsubasa1390]

As a kid, trips to Long Beach were triply fun, as I could see the Spruce Goose, go next door to the Queen Mary and then visit the Long Beach Naval Shipyard where my father worked. Sadly, only the Queen remains there, though it’s good that she’s receiving some love.

[@HaysClark]

It definitely is worth seeing in person, and you can get tours to go inside and sit down in the cockpit. It's incredible how dozens of fighter jets are on display under the H-4 and it just dwarfs them. It's one of those things that is so big it is hard to appreciate even when viewing it in person. The museum is on par with the National Air and Space Museum in DC and you can easily spend all day just looking at planes, helicopters, space craft and watching an IMAX film. You can easily fly into Portland and drive to McMinnville, OR. There is also an wonderful indoor waterpark next door which included a retired cargo 747.

[@mikewebber4784]

100% love the throw back to the older videos on the sofa. Just missing the dogs haha. Great content as always.

[@Lesapunbesa]

I love your Chanel. I Remember when I used to be your cabin crew and it feels a bit like family. Wish you all the best. Your videos are each time more interesting. Keep on rockin ❤

[@bendelmundo6061]

I had a chance to see it in Long Beach before it was moved to it's current home. It truly was an amazing piece of engineering that helped kick off my interest in Aerospace and the Engineering field and I hope it continues to inspire every kid that sees it.

[@4edward61]

First, a good friend of mine was a security guard for the Spruce Goose in Long Beach after he was discharged from the Marine Corps back in the 80s. He spent several years there at all hours of the day and night. He has some cool stories. As for me, I was a docent at the Museum of Flight for 11 years, and I've made numerous trips to McMinnville and the Evergreen Aviation Museum fir a variety of reasons, mostly my enjoyment. Been through the Hercules a few times, and every visit is as amazing as the first! The size, the engineering, the stories, the uniqueness, and the history are all a continuous evolution of education. I'm always thrilled as I approach the building while driving in, and even more so as I enter the Museum, and you're already UNDER the port wing structure. Being so large, it dwarfs all in its presence and makes those R-4360s seem like just little Rotax's! I can't wait to get back down fir another visit. FYI, following the mismanagement of Museum funds by the founder and the ensuing Covid scare, they're struggling a bit and could use more support from more aviation enthusiasts like I'm certain who follow this Mentour Now page. Thank you for this story!

[@IridiumRedTheOrigina]

448 Sparkplugs in that plane (2 per cylinder, 28 cylinders per engine, 8 engines). And the 4360 was an engine that in some configurations might need the plugs changed regularly. Thats a lot of plugs!

[@masmainster]

Hughes may have been an eccentric but he had great vision and was a huge influence on air travel today. He proved his plane would fly when many said it wouldn't.

[@beauradovich4346]

This is a beautiful big bird. I am lucky enough to have sat in the Captain's chair of the spruce goose at it's current (and likely final) place of residence in Oregon. It is truly a massive beast.

[@lawrenceedger292]

I’m glad the Spruce Goose can still be seen (and toured inside) in a museum in Oregon. I loved visiting that museum!

[@reallyseriously7020]

I love this episode! More historical vids are always welcome. Thank you for all the fascinating info!

[@nioghalvfemsproblemer3734]

I’d never really thought much about aviation and now am obsessed! - I’m so grateful to have discovered you! Your channels are absolutely superb, your style hypnotic and it’s all done so well 💯❤✈️

[@larrybolhuis1049]

I have sat in the Pilots seat in this plane. To say that it's BIG is just nuts, it's GINOURMOUS! The detail they went through to build it is incredible and it still looks awesome today!

[@austinask3904]

My grandpa's company did the wiring for the museum that it currently is stored in. I Remember going with my grandpa to work one day as a kid and seen this massive plane. It was moved in five parts. Each Wing was broken into two separate parts and the fuselage was another

[@nickma71]

I watched the Aviator and thought it was very well done. The movie ends with the flight of the Hercules. I appreciate the history shown here including flying boats and the connections. Also, the modern "Hercules" is also an after thought to most people, despite the durability and very long use. That is the C-130 in US terms. Nowhere near the size, similar by name only to honor Hughes.

[@malcolm20091000]

Interesting. I thought Lockheed built the C130. Was it really named Hercules to honor Hughes?

[@jbaue5454]

i grew up near Portland, OR so i have seen the spruce goose multiple times and it still amazing me every time i see it with how big it actually is. not picture can do it justice you have to see it in person to understand how big it really is.

[@wildflashback1979]

Flying boats are my favourite type of plane. Hands down

[@paullaurencesweeney5255]

I am terrified of flying and actively avoid this mode of transport. However, I would use a flying boat and pay handsomely for it if necessary.

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

@@paullaurencesweeney5255 Sadly they died out when airports actually got better then a strip of dirt in most places...unless in some special cases, like firefighters plane. But i dont think you can get to those.

[@dstarling61]

I am privileged to live 10 minutes away from the Evergreen Aviation Museum, in McMinville, OR, where the Goose resides. What an amazing piece of engineering and craftsmanship. If you are ever in the area, definitely check it out.

[@dstarling61]

If you do visit, there is an Airshow in McMinnville every Labor Day weekend!

[@ImpmanPDX]

Spend a day at Evergreen at the museum and water park. Then go to Pearson/Murdock in Vancouver the next!

[@James1095]

I've seen this plane in person in the museum in Oregon and it is really something. It's hard to really grasp the enormous scale of the machine without standing beneath it. Truly amazing, it saddens me that it only ever flew once.

[@Oriontheaviator]

We have been on this plane and the size is next level the cockpit has steps up to the pilot seats, it has access in the wings where they would be able to work on the engines in flight

[@persjofors2586]

Love to see you back on the couch (even if is not the one in your living room.)

[@douglasfaichnie]

I absolutely love flying boats! Elegant, old school stuff. Would love more on vintage stuff. Thank you Peter 🫡

[@jimmygale96]

I am loving the new segways into sponsor segments. Its so clean and smooth and makes it feel like a part of the video!

[@sailingmaster]

Flying boats were special. At least to me, they were. I learned to fly in a Grumman Goose. That was 40 years ago and I can still close my eyes and hear the roar of her radials.

[@tin2001]

Never flown a real plane, but I spent many hours in a Grumman Goose on Microsoft FSX. I used to love taking off from my local airport, and flying over to a lake up in a mountain area about half an hour (flying time) away.

[@thomasosterloh8247]

My dad took me to watch it fly. We lived in Long Beach at the time.

[@leahholland6272]

Great weekend to highlight a flying boat... saw the srpuce goose years ago in the museum... This weekend saw the Martin Mars Hawaii flown to Victoria for retirement into the BC Aviation Museum

[@ginog5037]

Howard Hughes was a genius! To see this beauty in person, pictures & video don't do it justice. He took "Imagination is more important than knowledge."- AE, to the next level in all his endeavors.

[@chrisvickers7928]

In 1959 my dad drove us out to Victoria Airport just north of the city of Victoria to show us the Mars flying boats sitting on the tarmac still painted in grey. Four of them were eventually converted into water bombers operating out of Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island. Last night the last of these four, the Hawaii Mars, made it's last flight from Sproat Lake to Patricia Bay just north of Victoria where it will be stored as a museum piece. It's last flight overflew much of the east coast of Vancouver Island accompanied by the Snowbirds aerobatic team. The last leg took it over Victoria and right over my house at low level. Damn it was loud. I can't imagine how loud the Spruce Goose would have been if it had ever flown overhead.

[@vaughnrees8908]

I visited the Spruce Goose along with the Queen Mary a year or so before it was moved out of L.A. the most memorable thing was the emense amount of exposed wood. It was breathtaking or mesmerizing to see a plane with nothing covering the walls of the interior. The wood was pristine as though it was just constructed.

[@stevenslater2669]

I visited McMinnville three times after reading the account of how the Spruce Goose was disassembled, transported, stored and finally reassembled at Evergreen’s facility. The aircraft is enormous. So large, in fact, it sits in a huge pit inside the museum building. Never got a chance to tour the inside of the aircraft. I guess the tours of the interior came later. The museum has lots of other planes to see - definitely worth the trip. If you go to McMinnville, it’s not too far from the NAS Tillamook where the Navy housed blimps during WWII. The blimps are gone and only one of the huge hangers survive. The second hanger burned down years ago. They were amazing structures, gigantic to match the scale of the blimps, with clear span construction. The first hanger (I think it is the surviving structure) took quite a few months to build as the Oregon winter when it was built was uncharacteristically terrible. The second structure was built in about a single month. Unbelievable even today. When we visited Tillamook there were a good number of planes on display but the hanger is so huge it seemed almost empty. And there were used parts lying all over the place, including a 3420 Twin Allison V-24 engine. Dirty, oily, & just lying there. Great stuff for a mechanical engineer on holiday. If your wife is with you, be sure to drive up the highway to the Tillamook Cheese factory & take the tour. You get samples. Good stuff.

[@phillair3813]

I've been to the Evergreen flight museum, and had a great time. The tour aboard the Spruce Goose is excellent, given by experts who answered all my questions. They also had the SR 72, it''s chase drone among many many other planes. There is also a large theater showing other aerospace achievements. The museum is split into 3 large buildings with many military aircraft outside. The site at McMinville is quite beautiful itself.

[@carstenvalentin8493]

I visited The Spruce Goose in Los Angeles Harbour in 1981 ....... Amazing plane

[@ashwinkumar9084]

What a fascinating story! I didn't know nothing about Spruce Goose until I saw it myself in McMinnville, Oregon in March of this year. I thought it was a super big model of a smaller plane. Couldn't believe its really capable of flying until someone told me so at the museum! Wish I can share my pics here. Also they have a B747 at this museum.

[@ricardograf6393]

I would LOVE to see a video about PANAM and his Clipper fleet back in the 30's .... Aaaahhh, the golden age of aviation!

[@herzogsbuick]

not only did i get to see it and walk around inside last year, when i was at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum, they were bringing in an F-117 through the parking lot and into the building. so freaking cool.

[@ThatXrayGuy]

I had the pleasure of seeing the Spruce Goose, when I was working in Oregon last year. It was an amazing experience! Thank you for doing another interesting and informative video, Petter!

[@guarami1]

I’ve been waiting a long time for your take on this airplane!🎉

[@blackbirdpie217]

I saw it in Long Beach in the 1980s. It and the Queen Mary Atlantic ocean liner were the two attractions there. It was very impressive, and seemed a mixture of disappointment that it never saw service, and a joy that it remained extant at all.

[@bur_n_t]

i went to see this thing in an aviation museum once with my dad. it was majestic, even if it wasnt very effective. last i heard, that museum shut down. glad i got to see it, even if i only remember the effect it had me, and not how it looked.

[@lanceferraro3781]

Many times I prowled around, and in the Spruce Goose. It is amazing to see a DC-3 tucked neatly beneath the stbd wing, a MIG nearby, and the Goose looming over many more planes, its wings almost like a protective mother.

[@Zupdood2]

I've seen the Spruce Goose, both when it was in Long Beach, CA and also at the Evergreen Museum in Oregon. That was cool, but what was really cool was seeing the other plane Peeter mentions, the Stratolauncher, a couple of years ago. My son and I were driving to LA from Reno and decided to spend the night in Mojave, CA to charge our car. The Stratolauncher was located near our hotel at The Mojave Air and Space Port, so we drove on base the next morning and we were lucky to see the Stratolauncher being prepped outside of its huge hanger. Such a cool sight that few have seen!

[@Roughtek]

Back in 2012 I happened to go to that museum while me and my family were driving from California up to Washington, being able to stand next to that plane and Even the small area that they let you walk into it was really cool to see.

[@ErnestRobinson-v1f]

Great coverage of this monster. This series is fast becoming as much a favourite of mine as your other videos.

[@cidertom]

This last weekend was the last flight of the Hawaii Martin Mars, another huge flying boat. Not as big as the Goose, but huge.

[@MentourNow]

I saw the last takeoff! Fantastic aircraft

[@rghunt3221]

I just missed its arrival at Victoria International, I had just left on a tiny little 737...

[@jeromemckenna7102]

I've heard about the Spruce Goose, much of my life but I never heard anyone explain why it was built and why it was obsolete when it was finished. So, thanks for the video.

[@JasonGillmanJr]

This seems like it might tie in well to a video on the Lun-class ekranoplane

[@PavelKostromitinov]

Or any other ground effect plane, come to think of it. That one is possible the most famous. but there definitely are more successful ones.

[@JasonGillmanJr]

@@PavelKostromitinov I can dig it!

[@tamasbodnar1729]

I had the privilege of going inside this aircraft when it was at Long Beach and these pictures don't do it Justice this things a building with wings.

[@merrillkingston8807]

Yes, I not only took a detailed tour of the Hercules 4, while it was still in Long Beach, my step father actually worked on the center wing section of it. If you ever get a chance to see it in person, you'll be amazed at just how huge it is.

[@DjMikeWatt]

I already know the story of the Spruce Goose, but decided to watch your video anyway because I always learn something new!

[@captainwolfe1147]

The Goose! I love it! I went to visit it when I was a kid and got to go inside it :) The Evergreen Museum is great, they have a building for Airplanes and a building for Space, and I hear now they have a water park as well lol.

[@patrickcatpop]

The Hercules/Spruce Goose is amazing to see up close and personal! Thanks for reminding me. I have a friend who has never seen it and we have been putting together a trip to the area around where the plane currently resides. I used to go see it in its former location.

[@BillyKirbyUK]

Great video as ever and it's good that you acknowledge the contribution of the GBR towards the war effort. Thank goodness I am too young to have experienced this - but you are adding documentary to our history. Thank you

[@PowerScissor]

If you're even in Oregon, the museum the Spruce Goose is at is amazing! So much Mercury, Gemini, Apollo space stuff there also. Really worth stopping by!

[@LastofAvari]

What a wonder! Pointless, but fascinating. Thanks for telling this story, Petter!

[@deep_space_exploration]

Honestly enjoyed the more informal setting. A nice change from the very professional setting we have all got used to. Maybe try it out now and then every so and often

[@douglasdeltondo7852]

Thanks. My dad works for TWA and this gave me a good idea of what his crazy boss really was about. All I remember about him was that he had problem with never cutting his nails so they were very long and it was really strange when he met people. So I think he kind of went a little mad by the end of his life. Thanks For putting together a really perfect picture of what planet this represented.

[@EvelioPerez]

A dude with a microphone and a KZbin account calls out one of pinnacle achievements of the aviator himself "a failure". The aircraft was revolutionary in ways you couldn't describe it to the armchair commando types. This a aircraft demonstrated many concepts that were unproven at the time and opened the skies to the behemoth airliners of today. I saw this majestic beast as it sat in a hanger in Long Beach, CA and its sheer size and sleek design took my breath away. Howard Hughes was way ahead of his time, and so was the Hercules.

[@postal_the_clown]

Not to mention that 100% of produced H-4's exist today. Somehow, never got to see it when I lived in L.A. But did see it at Evergreen in '08. For true fans, it certainly is a more positive "ship of dreams" than the Titanic.

[@aliamacintyre483]

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but I personally wouldn’t call anyones gigantic, painstaking, time consuming effort a ‘failure’. That’s quite disrespectful to anyone’s effort and time.

[@Ilingoceros]

I pass by the the aircraft museum in McMinnville regularly on the way out to the coast. I've stopped at the museum several times. It's definitely worth going out of your way to visit. A world class museum with tons of aviation stuff to see. And, yeah, the spruce goose up close is incredible. Another Oregon aviation museum (lots of old cars too) very well worth the visit is the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, about an hour up the Columbia River from Portland. Also world class and the majority of the planes in the museum are still fully flight capable. They have a fly-in in September every year in which old, unusual and just plain strange aircraft from all over the western USA can be seen.

[@MGlBlaze]

Funnily enough, the first place I heard the name Spruce Goose was actually in the video game Crimson Skies. The aircraft features in a mission in that game and, given the alternate history leanings of the game's setting, it didn't occur to me it was also a real aircraft.

[@donithus2426]

I've seen the spruce goose twice in my life now, it's such an amazing plane to see in person

[@beaker126]

I've been aboard her at the Evergreen Aviation Museum and got to sit in the pilot's seat. Very cool experience, and man, I can only imagine the flight engineer's workload during the piston era. So many small gauges. I can't imagine what your scan pattern would look like!

[@workcell]

Walked inside a couple times when it was in Long Beach . It is really amazing and in good condition. Well done on the video Petter.

[@myth-n-m4yhem]

Amazing, simply amazing 😂 Too enthralled to eat my popcorn!

[@gnomoblu8015]

Thank you, Petter, for this absolutely fantastic narrartion. Wasn't aware of all the intricacies that affected this project.

[@larryfreeman7979]

ive been to theEvergreen Museum in McMinnville and toured the Spruce Goose. Incredible feeling to sit in the same seat that Howard Hughed sat in. The day I was there was a slow day for the museum and I got a one on one guided tour. Even have a picture of me in the pilots seat wearing Hughes Fedora. Disclaimer; the tour guide admitted that although the hat was made for Mr Hughes, there is no record of him actually ever wearing the hat himself.