Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was at times a pilot, a movie producer, a playboy, an eccentric and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He is famous for building the Hercules airplane, commonly known as the Spruce Goose, and for his debilitatingly eccentric behavior later in life.

Aviator and engineer

Hughes was a lifelong aircraft enthusiast, pilot, and self-taught aircraft engineer. He set many world records, and designed and built several aircraft himself while heading Hughes Aircraft. The most important aircraft he designed was the Hughes H-1 Racer. On September 13, 1935, Hughes, flying the H-1, set the world speed record of 352 miles per hour over his test course near Santa Ana, California. (The previous record was 314 miles per hour.) A year and a half later (January 19, 1937), flying a somewhat re-designed H-1 Racer, Hughes set a new trans-continental speed record by flying non-stop from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds (beating his own previous record of 9 hours, 27 minutes). His average speed over the flight was 322 miles per hour. http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/Hughes/EX28.htm (U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission web site).

Related Topics:
Aircraft - Hughes Aircraft - September 13 - 1935 - January 19 - 1937 - Los Angeles - New York City

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The H-1 Racer featured a number of design innovations: it had retractable landing gear, so that in flight the wheels did not cause drag. It had all rivets and joints set flush into the body of the plane, also to reduce drag. The H-1 Racer influenced the design of a number of World War II fighter airplanes such as the Mitsubishi Zero, the Focke-Wulf FW190, and the F6F Hellcat. http://www.wrightools.com/hughes/h1_history.htm (Wright Tools web site) The H-1 Racer was donated to the Smithsonian in 1975 and is on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

Related Topics:
Mitsubishi Zero - Focke-Wulf FW190 - F6F Hellcat - Smithsonian - 1975 - National Air and Space Museum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On July 10, 1938 Hughes set another record by completing a flight around the world in just 91-hours (3 days, 19 hours) - beating the old record by more than four days. For this flight he did not fly a plane of his own design but a Lockheed Super Electra (a twin engine plane with a four man crew).

Related Topics:
July 10 - 1938 - Lockheed Super Electra

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1938, the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, known at the time as Houston Municipal Airport, was re-named "Howard Hughes Airport," but the name was changed back after people objected to naming the airport after a living person.

Related Topics:
William P. Hobby Airport - Houston, Texas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As an aviator, he received many awards. This included the Harmon Trophy in 1936 and 1938, the Collier Trophy in 1939, the Octave Chanute Award in 1940, and a special Congressional medal for his round-the-world flight.

Related Topics:
Harmon Trophy - Collier Trophy - Octave Chanute Award

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also in 1938, William John Frye, a former Hollywood stunt flier and the first director of operations of Transcontinental and Western Air (T&WA), put in an order for the new 33-passenger Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first commercial plane with a pressurized passenger cabin. He convinced Hughes, also enamored of avant-garde aircraft technology, to finance this purchase. By doing so, Hughes became the principal stockholder of T&WA in April 1939. Throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s, T&WA (which became Trans World Airlines) continued to bet on the most advanced planes available, largely due to Hughes' own interest in aircraft development. In particular, Hughes helped specify the design of the Lockheed Constellation, with its pressurized cabin, buying several planes for TWA in order to be able to fly high altitude (20,000 ft) long distance routes above the turbulance of low altitude weather. The airline would grow significantly under his leadership.

Related Topics:
William John Frye - Boeing 307 - Trans World Airlines - Lockheed Constellation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On July 7, 1946, Hughes barely survived a plane crash. He was piloting the maiden flight of the experimental aircraft XF-11, a U.S. Army spy plane. His flight plan included a tour of Los Angeles to show off the new plane, but an oil leak caused one of the counter-rotating propellers to reverse its thrust, causing the plane to yaw sharply. Hughes tried to save the craft by landing it on the Los Angeles Country Club golf course, but seconds before he reached his attempted destination the plane started dropping dramatically and the aircraft crashed into the Beverly Hills neighborhood surrounding the country club. When the plane finally stopped after clipping three houses, the fuel tanks exploded, setting fire to a home and the surrounding area. Hughes lay wounded beside the burning airplane until he was rescued by a Marine master sergeant who was visiting friends next door. The injuries he sustained in the crash, including a crushed collar bone, six broken ribs and third-degree burns, affected him the rest of his life. Many attribute his long addiction to opiates to the large amounts of morphine he was prescribed for the injuries. The trademark mustache he wore later in life was an attempt to cover a minor facial scar from the incident.

Related Topics:
July 7 - 1946 - XF-11 - U.S. Army - Los Angeles - Los Angeles Country Club - Golf course - Beverly Hills - Marine - Master sergeant - Collar bone - Ribs - Burn - Opiates - Morphine - Mustache

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of his greatest endeavors was the H-4 Hercules, nicknamed the "Flying Lumberyard", and more famously, the Spruce Goose (although its frame was built predominantly of birch), a massive flying boat completed just after the end of World War II. The Hercules only flew once (with Hughes at the controls) in 1947. The plane was originally commissioned by the U.S. government for use in World War II, but was not completed until after the war. Hughes was called to testify before the Senate War Investigating Committee to explain why the plane had not been delivered to the United States Air Force during the war, but the committee disbanded without releasing a final report. Because the U.S. government denied him the use of aircraft aluminium (which had been rationed), Hughes built the plane largely from birch in his Westchester, California facility to fulfill his contract. The plane was on display alongside RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California for many years before being moved to McMinnville, Oregon, where it is now part of the Evergreen Aviation Museum.

Related Topics:
Spruce Goose - World War II - 1947 - Senate War Investigating Committee - United States Air Force - Westchester, California - RMS ''Queen Mary'' - Long Beach, California - McMinnville, Oregon - Evergreen Aviation Museum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~