117 Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, OR 45° 12 15 N, 123° 8 40 W The Spruce Goose There are many aviation museums, but only one has Howard Hughes's gigantic flying boat, the Hercules H-4 (better known as the Spruce Goose). The plane, made almost entirely from wood, flew once in 1947, and then was maintained in flight-ready condition until Hughes's death in 1976. During the Second World War, the U.S. lost enormous numbers of ships, materi- als, and men crossing the Atlantic Ocean because of Nazi German U-boats. In 1942 Allied shipping losses were at their height, with more than 1,600 ships