Oregon - May 17, 2004 along the Oregon coast.

A day to have some personal time before meeting a client for dinner and a sales pitch.  But first, a trip to the place where my air airplane parts were fabricated:   Van's Aircraft at the Aurora, Oregon airport.


The engineering design department is upstairs.  The "store" is in the front corner on the ground floor.  And here are two factory prototypes that are used for trade shows and prospective customer demonstration rides.  The one on the left is the FIRST RV-10 built.  A second RV-10 has since been built and flown.   The airplane on the right is similar to my own RV-9A.  This one has a three-blade constant speed propeller, while mine is only a two-blade constant speed propeller.

What can I say about the Spruce Goose built by the legendary Howard Hughes?  Here it is at the Evergreen Air Museum!  The museum is located right across the street from the McMinnville, Oregon airport.  By the way, those are only THREE of the EIGHT engines that powered the Hughes H-4.  These are the same engines that powered the B-29 bomber in World War II.   The B-29 only used FOUR  of these engines.

That is an SR-71 Black Bird, the fastest turbojet powered airplane to ever fly.   Notice how I used the word "turbojet" since there is one faster experimental airplane that recently flew this year.  Then again, there "may be another" faster bird from the Skunk Works that has not yet been revealed to the public.

The Spruce Goose was actually made from Birch wood, and was so big, it was the first airplane to utilize hydraulic assist on the control surfaces.  It was also the first composite built airplane due to the plywood resin impregnated materials used in its construction.

This C-47 (DC-3) is painted with D-Day invasion stripes and sits on the north side of the Evergreen Museum building.

Across the street at the front of the airport is this F-15 Eagle up on a pedestal for all to see.


As far as I am concerned, this is an engineering work of art.

But, right down the road a few miles is this work of art.  Look closely and you will see that it is made from rusting scraps of steel, iron, nuts, bolts, and old hand tools.

And if that is not enough to impress you, try this one on for size!

That was Monday, May 17, 2004 -- at least the part of the day that was mine to do with as I wished.  I have more to see on the NEXT PAGE, from the next day, going EAST up the Columbia River toward Moses Lake, Washington.