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New Years Day Ride


Cogswell

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It's been spectacularly pleasant in this part of the world so far this winter - only a week or so below freezing and far drier than usual. Hearing about others up north running snow blowers, I feel guilty as I've hardly had to use my car's windshield wipers this winter! New Year's Day it's sunny and almost 50 degrees. A couple of friends tried to get me to come over and watch football . . . but with weather like this, who wants to watch football? I haven't had time to ride since mid October, so time to get 2014 started off right . . .

Got 'er out and just like a Honda, she started right up.

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Stopped at a facility that used to be a Chrysler dealership that's being converted to a car museum and still under construction. It's called the "World of Speed". The theme apparently is going to be drag racing, muscle cars and even some bikes! Opening is sometime in 2014. It sits right along I-5 south of town. Should be fun.

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Continuing on the museum circuit, the ride took me out to McMinnville where the Spruce Goose is housed. Surprise of all surprises, it's open on New Year's Day! This really beats hell out of watching football!

The Goose has come under a cloud in the past couple of months. It's home is the "Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum". The name is derived from "Evergreen Aviation" which is a private aircraft operator situated across the road at McMinnville airport and from which the museum got its initial funding. The local lore is that Evergreen was known as "CIA Airlines", as one of their jobs was to fly the Shah of Iran out of Iran in 1979 and other clandestine work over the years for the CIA. They also developed and operate 747 water tankers used to fight forest fires. SoCal residents have probably seen these in action on the news during fire events. There is also an aircraft maintenance and storage facility at Marana, AZ which is operated by Evergreen. If you've ever driven by on the highway you may have wondered "what are all those aircraft doing lined up out there in the middle of no where??" Unfortunately, times have gotten tough for Evergreen and they've been forced in to chapter 7 bankruptcy. There was an article recently in the local paper about an investigation by the State Attorney General about whether the relationship between the museum and the company has been at arm's length and there's also some question as to whether the Goose is owned free and clear. Right now conventional wisdom is that all is good and that the museum will remain separate and will survive on its own. Hopefully that's the case - but it's never good when an Attorney General is sniffing around things. :ph34r: With that though, it seemed like the thing to do go in and have another look.

The Goose is absolutely enormous. At admission, they hand you a fact sheet about the aircraft. When compared to an Airbus A380, the Goose is smaller in only 1 dimension - it's 20 feet shorter. The tail is exactly the same height, and the wingspan is significantly wider. For all of you watching football - a game could be played on the Goose's wing.

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"Spruce" is a misnomer - the aircraft is actually made of laminated Birch. The name "Spruce Goose" is also just a nickname - the official name is the "Hughes H-4 Hercules". It's an engineering marvel - Hughes was a real genius. I suppose the line between genius and madness is a very fine one - such a sad ending to his life.

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In addition to the plane, they have the model used to make the movie (it's amazing how they can film small dioramas and make them look as though they're full size) and an operating cutaway of the Pratt and Whitney R-4360 28 cylinder, 3000 hp engine. They're amazingly complex. I had a hard time visualizing that designers could make an engine that complex using slide rules and paper. Imagine flying that plane with 224 cylinders (56 VFR's) pumping out 24,000 hp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_R-4360

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With a normal camera lens, it's impossible to get the entire thing in to one shot. Note how small the people are standing beneath. This photo was taken from the second floor balcony which still is not as high as the wing. For an additional $20, one can take a tour of the cockpit and sit in the pilot's seat where Hughes sat on the plane's only flight. Had production versions of the plane been made, the front of the plane would have had clamshell doors that would open to allow cargo to be loaded through the front of the plane. The flight deck is, like a 747, above and separate from the cargo deck.

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There's plenty more to see inside - there's a collection of numerous WWII aircraft, including this B-17 and a re-creation of a German Messerschmitt ME 262 jet aircraft. It's a stop that's well worthwhile if coming through the area.

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Leaving the museum was just back home and then back to work tomorrow. At least 2014 is off to a great start! Everyone ride safely this year - keep the rubber side down.

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Yep, much rather ride than sit around watching football, my wife feels the same way! she much rather me be riding than sitting in front of the tube watching football. The only exception is MotoGP, she doesn't mind as she knows how much I like watching it and at least it's not BORING she says.

I love aeronautical stuff too, I remember going to see the Spruce Goose decades ago when they had down here in Long Beach, too bad they moved it. Everyone once in a while they have a B-17 and a P51 down here at John Wayne Airport and actually give rides, even in the Mustang! Kind of pricey though...

Anyway thanks for sharing and good start to the new year!

Cheers!

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Way too cool there Cogswell. Now that is definitely the way to spend New Years day and certainly a great way to start off 2014. My son Liam would be absolutely BESIDE himself if we had something like that sitting in a museum that was close enough to go and see. So would the whole family for that matter. Now if we could ride there on the bike to see it, now THAT would certainly make me the World's Greatest Dad. I think I may already have that title in his eyes but there is always room for improvement. LOL

All the best

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Don't worry Cogswell - I haven't been running a snowblower. (I'm old fashioned enough to shovel by hand).

Good to see that you got out for a ride. Thanks for sharing the aviation museum - and letting the frozen north ride vicariously through you! :biggrin:

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For an additional $20, one can take a tour of the cockpit and sit in the pilot's seat where Hughes sat one the plane's only flight.

I dunno, might get some weird germs or something. :goofy:

J/K, looks like an interesting destination. Thanks for the pics.

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For an additional $20, one can take a tour of the cockpit and sit in the pilot's seat where Hughes sat one the plane's only flight.

I dunno, might get some weird germs or something. :goofy:

J/K, looks like an interesting destination. Thanks for the pics.

Funny you should say that . . . since I got home I've developed this inexplicable aversion to cutting my fingernails and find that I'm way short on mason jars to store - well, to store, ehm, fluids. Excuse me - I've got to go wash my hands now . . . :laughing6-hehe:

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Way too cool there Cogswell. Now that is definitely the way to spend New Years day and certainly a great way to start off 2014. My son Liam would be absolutely BESIDE himself if we had something like that sitting in a museum that was close enough to go and see. So would the whole family for that matter. Now if we could ride there on the bike to see it, now THAT would certainly make me the World's Greatest Dad. I think I may already have that title in his eyes but there is always room for improvement. LOL

All the best

Kids go wild for the waterpark next to the museum. Access to the pool is gained by going up in to the fuselage of the Boeing 747 that sits atop the roof, then going down the twin water slides that come out the side of the plane's fuselage aft of the port side wing.

http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/waterpark/

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Here are a couple of videos of the 747 making its final landing and then being craned up on top of the building. It was an Evergreen 747 that had reached the end of its structural life so it was donated for the waterpark. The landing is at McMinnville municipal airport which is across State Highway 18. The runway is just 5,400 feet long and there is no control tower (though the area's flight service station is at the field). The plane could land comfortably, but by 747 standards, that's a short runway with no margin for error. A 747 sitting on a building will make you do a double take as you drive by if you haven't seen it previously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0l5O9XiSBQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3i-3rv_6ss

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Well then, that settles it. We WILL have to make a trip down to see you some time this summer Cogswell. The chance to see the Spruce Goose and go on a water slide that starts in the belly of an airplane,................... hell, even if the kids don't wanna make the trip, I'm in. Now it sounds even COOLER. I may have to look you up when we hit town. That will definitely encourage my wife to complete her KDSC training course so that we can trailer the bikes down, since being only 4 and 6 the kids are too young to ride down.

From the looks of the website, the Museum and the water park are part of the same attraction. Is this correct?? If so, that would definitely be a days worth of sight-seeing.

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Well then, that settles it. We WILL have to make a trip down to see you some time this summer Cogswell. The chance to see the Spruce Goose and go on a water slide that starts in the belly of an airplane,................... hell, even if the kids don't wanna make the trip, I'm in. Now it sounds even COOLER. I may have to look you up when we hit town. That will definitely encourage my wife to complete her KDSC training course so that we can trailer the bikes down, since being only 4 and 6 the kids are too young to ride down.

From the looks of the website, the Museum and the water park are part of the same attraction. Is this correct?? If so, that would definitely be a days worth of sight-seeing.

Yep. All share the same parking lot - just a few minutes walk from one to the other. In addition, co-located there is the Evergreen space museum (not as good as the aircraft - many of the displays are re-creations and not actual spacecraft, but still interesting) and a theater that shows aviation/science/history related films - so 4 attractions in all. A family can definitely spend a whole day there.

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Cool. They must have designed that building to have a 747 on top. :cool:

Reminds me I need to go see the space shuttle in downtown LA. :beer:

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Thanks for the great pics (as usual), Cogswell--and for the vicarious tour of the aviation museum. :fing02: There's no snow where I am, but I would have had to fit the VFR with a hull--or a periscope--to go for a ride today.

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Anything that combines aircraft and motorcycles just plain rocks. - and about those chrome wheels, I stripped and polished the ones on my '97 but chrome might be in order for my '07. I know chrome is a love it/hate it thing but I love it on the 6th gen.

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