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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: MARCH 3, 1993

It's here! Thousands trek to Three Mile Lane

By Yvette Saarinen
Of the News-Register

"Wow!," echoed along Three Mile Lane Saturday as about 10,000 people gathered for the homecoming of the legendary HK-1 Flying Boat.

"Wow! Look at those old planes!"

"Wow! Look at all the people!"

"Wow! Look how BIG it is!"

The Flying Boat, nicknamed the Spruce Goose, in terms of total size, was the largest load ever to travel on an Oregon highway. Three Mile Lane (Highway 18) was completely closed for several hours Saturday to accommodate the move to temporary storage at Evergreen International Aviation.

The 7-and-a-half mile journey over narrow backroads from the staging are out of the Willamette River near Weston Bend marked the end of a 1,055-mile trip from Long Beach, Calif., where it had been on display since 1980.

The caravan of the fuselage (181 feet), wings (158 feet each) and tail section (62 feet) plus the heavy moving equipment stretched more than 1,500 feet.

About 50 vehicles, 50 animals and 400 people joined the parade. Overhead, there waa an aerial salute from such vintage aircraft as a Corsair and Ford Tri-Motor. A hot air balloon floated on tethers.

The Flying Boat was built by the late billionaire Howard Hughes in 1946. It was designed to be a World War II troop carrier but was completed after the end of the war.

It was constructed from non-essential war materials - mostly birch, not spruce - and flew only once, on Nov. 2, 1947. The one-mile trip, at 70 feet, lasted one minute.

The aircraft was silver when it flew and subsequently was painted white. Museum representatives are not sure whether they will take it back to the original color.

After the flight, the Flying Boat was kept flight-ready in a hangar on Terminal Island. After Hughes' death in 1976, it was donated to the Aero Club of Southern California. It emerged from its hangar after 33 years, eventually to become a tourist attraction along with the oceanliner Queen Mary.

Spearheaded by owner Del Smith, Evergreen's bid to acquire the plane from the Aero Club was successful in July 1992. The plane will be the centerpiece for the aviation museum.

The disassembled plane left Long Beach Harbor on Oct. 13 for an 890-mile ocean voyage aboard barges. It arrived in Portland five days later. Weather and water levels in the Willamette River caused months of delay in getting the pieces to Weston Bar.

The Flying Boat has a wingspan of 320 feet. Its overall length is more the 218 feet, and overall height is more than 79 feet. It's gross weight is 300,000 pounds. It will require 100,00 square fee for display.

The pieces of the world's largest aircraft, wrapped in white, protective covering, will be visible for about three weeks. Then a "skin" will be placed over the temporary storage structure until the Evergreen AirVenture Museum is built, possibly by 1995.

Howard Lovering will direct the museum, assisted by Peggy Nuetzel. Information about the Flying Boat and the museum development may be obtained by calling the "Spruce Goose" hotline at 1-768-5083.

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