dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 An awful lot of spruce was cut down to build that particular giant goose! Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Unfortunately, Alan, (almost) no Spruce was used in the construction of this aircraft. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 It sure looks like the Spruce Goose to me - right down to the hat. From Wiki:...it was nicknamed by critics the "Spruce Goose", although it was made almost entirely of birch. I think you'd better give this one to Alan... How on Earth did you ever talk your way onto the flight deck? That can't be open to the public, is it? John Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 No Question that it's the Spruce Goose. A moniker given to the a/c by a reporter who just didn't know any better. Yes, in fact it is made of birch. Sorry Alan, I just had to yank your chain a little bit. Not "open" to the public - anything can be had for a price. The Evergreen Museum's price is $25/head for the grand tour of the flight deck. We lucked out and it was a real slow day, so spent over an hour touring through the fuselage. I should repeat the salient details of the tour - I'll do that next week with additional pictures. Likely best done under Real World Aviation. Thank you, Alan - over to you. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 I've got one in FS9 which was how I recognised it. The cockpit was beautifully recreated. Got some screenies of it somewhere. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 OK guys, I'll give you an easy one. This strange beast began life as something else entirely. Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 No-one gonna bite? I remember the movie (not from the debut - probably made before I was born), but not the name of the a/c. That double empennage has got to be unique. Old black and white classic that was replayed ad-nauseum on late-night TV back in the seventies. Race day for me, so no time to research. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 Aha, got it. It's the "Reindeer" from that Jimmy Stewart movie where he's a nerd, predicting that it's going to fail, and it eventually does, fortuanately, on the ground. There's probably a better designation for it but they called it the "Reindeer", I think. I knew I'd seen that double-elevator somewhere before. I think March deserves the honors, though. He obviously knew what it was. John Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 @ March - What's the story on the hat you're wearing in the Spruce Goose? Is that a prop they provide for photos, or is it your hat? John Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 That's the one guys, The Rutland Reindeer, from the movie No Highway in the Sky. The full sized mock up was actually based around a Handley Page Halton. with the airframe sutably modified for it's starring role. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umu7U6wVGLo Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 Give it to JA. I couldn't have come up with the name to save my life. Well done JA! Sure was a strange looking beast - only could have come from the imagination of a movie writer as I can see no endearing engineering reason for the setup. . Except, maybe, to increase the loads on the airframe enough to break off the empennage. @JA - The hat is a prop, supplied by the museum. I wish I'd seen the photo that you marked up. Had I seen it, I would have attempted the identical pose (without the pencil thin mustache). Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 With the intent of giving someone other than Andrew and Alan a chance, this one should not be too terribly difficult... John Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 I'll bet it's a US aircraft! Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 I'll let someone else have a bite. Hell it's even got my first 2 initials in its name! Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 A Buckaroo or something similar - US Navy if memory serves Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 The USN part is right - if you look closely you can see the tailhook. The Navy loved those dark blue paint jobs. But it's not a Buckaroo... John Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Something like that, though.......Buckeye? Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Nope - no buck in it. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 I wonder if the redundant ones were cannibal ised? Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Absolutely savaged 1 Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 @ March - is that an official guess, or a clue for someone else? John Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 LOL! Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Clue 1 Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Anyone going to name this bird then? Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 It's been so long I may have forgotten what it was... John Link to post Share on other sites
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