The Spruce Goose on the move to Long Beach, California, mid June, 1946
I wish I’d been in LA in 1946 to witness this one-in-a-lifetime event. By June of that year, Howard Hughes’s $20 million giant Spruce Goose was ready to be transported in pieces from Hughes Airport in Playa Vista down to Long Beach, where it was reassembled for its sole test flight in the following year. The move took two full days; the aircraft was so big that 2100 power and telephone lines had to be raised or lowered to clear the way. The sight of this gargantuan aircraft inching its way through the streets of Los Angeles must have been jaw-dropping.
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That’s an aircraft! I wonder how fast it could fly and if it ever did fly?
Yes, Peter, it did fly – once. That was on November 2nd, 1947.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spruce_goose#Maiden_flight
I am so glad I got to see the Spruce Goose while it was in the dome next to The Queen Mary. It was a beautiful piece of American History. Exciting!
I’ll forever kick myself that I didn’t go visit the Spruce Goose when I had the chance. It never occurred to me that they’d move it north!
I find the fact that the Spruce Goose flew to the height of only 70 feet very revealing.
The aircraft had a wingspan of 320 feet. There’s a phenomenon called “ground effect.” Without getting too technical, it means that when the Spruce Goose was within 320 feet of the surface (the same as its wingspan), it was flying in an area of increased lift (what keeps the aircraft in the air). If it had flown 321 feet or higher, it would’ve demonstrated a true ability to “fly.” Otherwise, virtually any airframe with enough power can fly in the “ground effect.” It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s able to sustain flight at a higher altitude. (A hovercraft also uses the ground effect to travel over the water on a cushion of air.)
Howard Hughes was under a lot of pressure at the time to demonstrate that the money spent on developing the Spruce Goose wasn’t a boondoggle. I suspect he pulled the wool over his detractors’ eyes with his demonstration flight, and that the “flying lumberyard” would have never been truly airworthy. But when the Spruce Goose rose above the water, Howard Hughes was off the hook.
Thanks for all that, Gail. I”d never heard that explanation before.
My family was the movers of the Spruce Goose, you can see the Company Name Star Movers in the images. My Grandfather was one of the leads, and my Great-Grandfather was the owner of the Company with his brothers.
Wow! I bet that was their biggest job ever, and the one they got asked about the most. Thanks for letting us no. Did anyone take photos while the move was in progress?