Our Vacation - Part 8

McMinnville, Oregon

Wine country and home of Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Aviation Museum.


Fortunately, this piece of history is still intact in Oregon for all of us to enjoy.



Some history after the flight and Howard Hughes' death:
After the flight, Hughes placed the Flying Boat in its custom built hangar and ordered her maintained in flight-ready condition. She remained in “hibernation” for 33 years at a cost of approximately one million dollars per year. In 1976, after Hughes' death, his holding company - Summa Corporation - made plans to disassemble the historic seaplane into nine pieces for various museums unless a non-profit organization stepped forward to adopt her.

At the last minute Summa made arrangements to donate the aircraft to the non-profit Aero Club of Southern California, which then leased it to the Wrather Corporation, headed by entrepreneur Jack Wrather and his wife, Bonita Granville Wrather. Wrather Corporation moved the Flying Boat to a temporary location while they built a custom dome to place her on exhibit.



The Flying Boat exhibit opened to the public in 1983. In the late 1980s, after the deaths of Jack and Bonita Wrather, the Disney Corporation purchased the former holdings of the Wrather Corporation. In March 1990, Disney informed the Aero Club of Southern California of its intention to discontinue the dome exhibit, leaving the Flying Boat looking for yet another home.

The Aero Club requested proposals for custody and preservation of the aircraft based on two specific criteria. The winning organization would have access to land on which to house the Flying Boat and the funding necessary to move and care for her.

Evergreen International Aviation’s plan, as envisioned by Captain Michael King Smith, proposed to not only preserve and protect her, but also to display her as the central exhibit in a living museum. On July 9, 1990, the Aero Club voted unanimously to award custody of the Hughes Flying Boat to Evergreen Aviation, located in McMinnville, Oregon.




Captain Michael King Smith
Raised in McMinnville, Oregon, Michael King Smith graduated from McMinnville High School 1984. An honor student, varsity athlete, and an Eagle Scout, he showed the signs of a leader at an early age. He continued his education at the University of Washington and in 1989 received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force. He graduated first in his class from Columbus Air Force Base. He also received awards including the Commander’s Trophy, Distinguished Graduate and Flying Excellence. Smith went on to become an F-15 pilot and Lead for the 123rd Fighter Squadron of the Oregon Air National Guard. At the same time, he served as President of Evergreen Ventures, Inc., and Evergreen Air Venture Museum. He was founder of the Evergreen-Doe Humane Society and President and Founder of Quality Aviation Services. Captain Smith died tragically in an automobile accident in 1995.

Building a Dream
When Captain Smith returned from Fighter Lead-In Training School he was full of enthusiasm for the creation of a living aviation museum. Evergreen International Aviation founder, Delford M. Smith, shared his son’s vision.

Today, the Evergreen Aviation Museum is the realization of the Smiths' vision to create a lasting tribute to the inspiring history of aviation and its vital role in the world.






From this.



To this.



An airplane with an anchor.




Check out the plane at the bottom right in this picture.



So big I can't get a picture of the whole plane.



The nose of the ship/plane.






Each propeller on the engines are a little over 17' long.




They are adding an Omnimax now and a space museum in the future.





We had the privilege of seeing this grand airplane both in Long Beach and in McMinnville and we would highly recommend if you have the opportunity you should see it.

This quote says it all;

"The project to save this historic airplane from being cut up and distributed to various museums has taken over eight years to accomplish. Now it will be up to us, the people of this country and the world to help continue this process. Visit the museum, show your support for our aviation heritage."


From here the rest of the vacation was through Eugene to Susanville, California and then like frosting on a cake we stopped in Reno, NV, to see the boys, Stacey and Tyler.





The best way to judge the success of a vacation is how tired you are when you return home.

We were tired, but one in our party (Zoe') was exhausted!!









And that my friends brings us to the end of our vacation story!!

Thank you for allowing me to share with you.

Tomorrow we return to all the news you can use!!!!!!!!!!!!!