Sometimes you have to leave the office, take a drive down 99w, and spend three hours looking at planes. Yesterday was the perfect day for doing just that. So I picked up Case and Adam and we pointed Marv south/southwest. When driving down Hwy 18 the four buildings look large, but not giant. When you get closer though, the buildings tower, and once inside it’s obvious why.
As we walked from the parking spot, we noticed a group of tanks over on a bluff. So we checked em out. Before we were even 100 feet away, Adam was calling out model numbers and explaining to other visitors that they were all Russian tanks. He’s a smart guy and he knows his shit.
I think this may have been my favorite vehicle in the group.
But we weren’t there to look at tanks, although they’re awesome. We stepped inside and immediately were overwhelmed by the giant plane taking up the entire hangar. That would be the spruce goose, which is impossible to take pictures of in it’s entirety. So, here’s the tail. The small tail below it is from an F4, which is a largish fighter jet itself.
They let you check out the inside, but you can’t really explore too much. The H4 is actually made of Birch, and was made of wood due to the war effort. It flew for a couple miles at around 25 feet above the water. Amazing.
Moving on to other pieces of the museum now. A replica of the plane the Wright Brothers created was really cool. The use of chainrings, and chains, and bicycle hubs was really cool. In fact, the engine used to power the first airplane was built by the Wright Bros bicycle shop mechanic. He built the engine in six weeks from crude drawings. He died a poor man.
Eventually we made our way to the B17 Bomber. For a few extra dollars, you get a personal tour of the plane. We took them up on the offer. Apparently I’m the right size for the two worst jobs on a B17 – the ball turret gunner, and tail gunner. Damn my 5’8″ frame.
After the B17 we were all a bit overwhelmed. But we still managed to check out the rest of the hangar. This guy must have been a real badass.
The Evergreen Air Museum is well worth the $20 I have to say. The story behind the museum and it’s founder make me wonder how much they’re really telling, but the result is a great collection of historical achievements. After sitting in traffic to get back to Portland, I was desperate to get on the bike, and as soon as I got home I jumped on the cross bike and headed north for beer and beer related activities. It was awesome.