The Spruce Goose

The Spruce Goose was the largest airplane ever constructed. It holds a special place in my family because my great uncle worked on the project with Howard Hughes, founder of Hughes Aircraft Company.Officially called the Hughes H-4 Hercules Aircraft the press coined the term "spruce goose" because it was almost entirely constructed of wood(birch actually, not spruce but the name stuck), due to restrictions upon materials made by the government during the wartime and weight efficiency. It could float and took off from the water.  Six times as large as any aircraft of the time, it was intended for use as a transport aircraft for transatlantic flight to counteract ships being sunk by submarines but unfortunately it was not completed in time to be of any practical use.  The Spruce Goose only made a single flight on November 2, 1947. Power lines had to be cut to admit the gargantuan plane into the city, where its historic flight was made only over a span of a mile for one minute, at an altitude of only 70 feet, but he test was mainly done to eliminate skepticism about whether it would fly. The plane serves as a symbol of what Americans could do, and a symbol of industrial capacity. It was kept in a climate controlled area for 33 years, passed down between various aviation clubs and corporations until it was disassembled and reassembled in a proper home at the Evergreen Museum in Oregon for the flying boat.  There has been an over dramatized movie made about it as well if anyone is interested.

Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWTk0Uflyk8
http://evergreenmuseum.org/the-museum/aircraft-exhibits/the-spruce-goose/