Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum
Established 1991 (as the Evergreen Museum)
Location McMinnville, Oregon, United States
Coordinates 45°12′14″N 123°8′36″W / 45.20389°N 123.14333°W / 45.20389; -123.14333Coordinates: 45°12′14″N 123°8′36″W / 45.20389°N 123.14333°W / 45.20389; -123.14333
Type Private: aerospace
Director Brandon Roben
Website evergreenmuseum.org

The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is an aviation museum which displays a number of military and civilian aircraft and spacecraft, most notably, the Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose". The museum is located in McMinnville, Oregon, across the street from the headquarters of Evergreen International Aviation. Oregon Route 18 separates the museum from the company operations and McMinnville Municipal Airport (KMMV). An IMAX theater opened in 2007, and a second exhibit hall focusing on the Titan II ICBM and space technology opened in 2008.

History

A B-25 Mitchell bomber on the main floor of the museum.

First envisioned by Capt. Michael King Smith, son of Evergreen International Aviation founder Delford Smith, the museum began with a small collection of vintage aircraft in a hangar at headquarters and was called the Evergreen Museum. In March 1990, the Disney Corporation, which owned the Spruce Goose, announced that it was closing its exhibit located in Long Beach, California. The Aeroclub of Southern California was notified and they immediately began the search for a new home for the Spruce Goose. In 1992, the Evergreen Museum won the bid with a proposal to build a museum around the aircraft and feature it as a central exhibit.[1]

The disassembly of the aircraft began in August 1992. The plane was disassembled and sent by ship up the Pacific Ocean, Columbia River, and Willamette River to Dayton where it was transferred to trucks and driven to Evergreen International Aviation. It arrived in February 1993.[2]

For the next eight years, the plane went through detailed restoration. Volunteers removed all the paint, replaced worn parts, and repainted the entire aircraft, among many other tasks.[3]

In September 2000, the main aircraft assemblies were complete. The fuselage, wings, and tail were transported across the highway and into the new museum building, still under construction. For the next year, crews spent their time assembling the wings and tail to the fuselage. These were completed in time for the museum's opening on June 6, 2001. The control surfaces (flaps, ailerons, rudder, and elevators) were assembled later. The last piece was put into place on December 7, 2001.

The name of the museum has evolved: Initially known as the Evergreen Museum, it changed in 1994 to the Evergreen AirVenture Museum. In 1997, the facility was renamed the Captain Michael King Smith Evergreen Aviation Educational Center in memory of Captain Smith, who died in an automobile accident in March 1995.

Work began on the space museum building in September 2006 which is identical to the aviation museum. It was completed in May 2008 and had its grand opening on June 6, 2008, exactly seven years after the aviation museum had its grand opening.[4] In 2009 the museum became an affiliate in the Smithsonian Affiliations program.[5]

A key component of the museum are the many volunteers that work there. Many are former aviators who flew the planes on display. Their detailed descriptions and real life commentary help bring the planes and their days of flight back to life.[6] The museum also offers a number of film presentations on the development and use of the aircraft, along with hands-on displays demonstrating various principles of avionics.[7]

An F-15 Eagle displayed on a pedestal in front of the EIA headquarters across the highway from the museum and a bronze statue on the pathway between the aviation and space museum are in memory of Captain Michael K. Smith.[8]

Kids climb on a Soviet T-55 behind the main building.

As of June 2008, two exhibit centers were open to the public: The primary structure is the aviation center with the Spruce Goose as centerpiece. The space flight center holds a Titan II missile as its centerpiece, along with the SR-71 Blackbird.[9] The Titan II sits upright in a specially constructed display extending two stories below the floor, silo fashion. The exhibit includes a re-created missile control room furnished with furniture and equipment donated from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Flight simulators for landing the space shuttle as well as for docking a Gemini capsule and performing a moon landing of the Lunar Excursion Module are visitor interactive. Attempts to obtain a retired Space Shuttle were unsuccessful.[10]

A smaller building has a seven story IMAX theater. A radio control air flight field is located behind the aviation center, near a group of Russian built armored vehicles, including two T-34/85s, a T-55 and two armored personnel carriers.

Wings and Waves Waterpark

Exterior of the waterpark, showing the mounted Boeing 747-100

Evergreen Wings & Waves Waterpark opened June 6, 2011.[11] The 71,350-square-foot (6,629 m2) waterpark, Oregon's largest, features 10 slides and a 91,703-gallon wave pool with the intent of tying into the educational focus of the Evergreen Museum Campus with its "Life Needs Water" interactive display in the H2O Children's Science Center.[12] The four big slides begin inside a retired Boeing 747-100 that sits atop the roof, 62 feet (19 m) above the splash landing.

Future plans for Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum include an 84-room hotel with restaurant.[13]

Key holdings

SR-71 instrument panel
Panorama of the museum, taken from under the wing of the Hercules

Also on display are many different aircraft engines.

The exhibit also includes many helicopters, reflecting Evergreen Aviation's original helicopter fleet.

90° panorama of the Hughes H-4 Hercules (the "Spruce Goose") as currently seen in the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

See also

References

  1. ↑ Saarinen, Yvette (1992-07-11). "Evergreen Wins Bid for Flying Boat". Yamhill Valley News-Register.
  2. ↑ Pointer, Starla (2000-09-14). "The Journey to Oregon". Yamhill Valley News-Register.
  3. ↑ Dana Tims (2006-11-01). "Honoring the historic Spruce Goose flight at Oregon museum". The Seattle Times.
  4. ↑ Tertin, Ben (2008-06-07). "Museum Launch a Soaring Success". Yamhill Valley News-Register.
  5. ↑ Philip Jaeger (2009). "New Member Program". Blog. Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  6. ↑ "Yamhill Valley Visitors Association: Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum".
  7. ↑ "Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum: Teacher Resources".
  8. ↑ "Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum: Captain Michael King Smith".
  9. ↑ Traver, Sheldon (2008-05-31). "Evergreen Aviation Museum welcomes Titan II exhibit". WillametteLive.com. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  10. ↑ Siemers, Erik (2011-04-12). "Evergreen Loses Bid For Space Shuttle". Portland Business Journal.
  11. ↑ Pointer, Starla (2011-06-04). "Counting Down To Splashdown". Yamhill Valley News-Register.
  12. ↑ News-Register Staff (2011-08-13). "Water Park Tops 50,000". Yamhill Valley News-Register.
  13. ↑ KGW News 747 a highlight of new Evergreen Waterpark April 30, 2010
  14. ↑ "Successful Completion of Underground Survey Services for Cartagena Refinery Expansion Project". Industrial-newsroom.com. 2010-12-30. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  15. ↑ Bennett, Christopher W. (2006-11-19). "Blackbird Timeline of Events 1990's & 00's". Retrieved 2008-07-20.
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