History: Spruce Goose, Hughes H-4 Hercules

After the first two taxi runs, four reporters left to file stories, but the remaining press stayed for the final test run of the day. After picking up speed on the channel facing Cabrillo Beach, the Hercules lifted off, remaining airborne at 70 ft (21 m) off the water and a speed of 135 miles per hour (217 km/h) for around a mile (1.6 km). At this altitude, the aircraft still experienced ground effect. Having proven to his detractors that Hughes' (by now unneeded) masterpiece was flight-worthy, thus vindicating the use of government funds, the "Spruce Goose" never flew again. Its lifting capacity and ceiling were never tested. A full-time crew of 300 workers, all sworn to secrecy, maintained the plane in flying condition in a climate-controlled hangar. The crew was reduced to 50 workers in 1962, and then disbanded after Hughes' death in 1976.
Display
In 1980, the Hercules was acquired by the California Aero Club, which put the aircraft on display in a large dome adjacent to the Queen Mary exhibit in Long Beach, California. In 1988, The Walt Disney Company acquired both attractions and the associated real estate. Disney informed the California Aero club that it no longer wished to display the Hercules after its highly ambitious Port Disney was scrapped. After a long search for a suitable host, the California Aero Club awarded custody of the Hughes flying boat to Evergreen Aviation Museum. Under the direction of museum staff, the aircraft was disassembled and moved by barge and truck to its current home in McMinnville, Oregon (about 40 miles (60 km) southwest of Portland), where it has been on display ever since. The Flying Boat arrived in McMinnville on February 27, 1993 after a 138-day, 1,055-mile (1,698 km) trip from Long Beach.