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Deal Will Keep 'Spruce Goose' In Oregon

The Spruce Goose on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum.
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The Spruce Goose on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum.

The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum will officially own Howard Hughes' "flying boat" in about five weeks.

The plane, known as the Spruce Goose, has been under a long-term payment plan since 1992. The McMinnville museum purchased the plane from the California Aero Club.

John Rasmussen with the Evergreen Aviation Museum said negotiations over the final payments for the plane, however, were only recently resolved.

"There was a final payment that was due and the language in the contract to figure out what that payment was, was a little bit vague," Rasmussen said. "So, through mediation we were able to come to a mutual agreement that both of us liked, and so that's why it is now finalized. "

The Spruce Goose was built during World War II to traffic troops and supplies across the Atlantic Ocean. However, it was only flown once, during a taxi test in 1947.

Rasmussen said the plane is the centerpiece exhibit at the Evergreen museum.

"We wanted to work with the California Aero Club to make sure that it stayed in tact, and that it was displayed as a complete item. Not torn apart, not displayed in pieces, but displayed as is truly was when it flew," said Rasmussen.

Despite it's name, the Spruce Goose was constructed almost entirely out of laminated birch.

"We are ecstatic, it has been a long process," said Rasmussen.

Copyright 2015 Oregon Public Broadcasting

Courtney Christy