Historical Pilot
An eccentric billionaire with love for films and aviation, Howard Hughes left a significant mark on the United States airline industry. He designed and flew his own planes, directed movies, collected several world record trophies and became the main hero in more than one biopic.
The future entrepreneur, film producer and aviator Howard Hughes was born into a very wealthy family, in Texas, USA, in 1905. His father, Howard R. Hughes Sr. had invented a rotary ‘bit’ for oil well drilling that brought the family a fortune. Young Howard Hughes became fascinated with flight in his childhood, after his father took him for a short ride aboard a Curtiss flying boat. The trip sparked in Hughes Jnr. a lifelong love of flying, especially seaplanes.
Whilst he was a private school dropout, Hughes had shown genuine interest in engineering and attended the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena and at the Rice Institute of Technology, Houston.
A billionaire who loved cinema and planes
After his father died in 1923, Howard Hughes junior inherited all family businesses, including Hughes Tool Company. He became a billionaire at the age of 19, starting his career as a movie producer and aviation enthusiast.
In 1926, he moved to Hollywood to start making films. In 1928, Hughes accumulated the requisite number of flying hours and received his pilot’s licence. To learn to fly, Hughes bought a Waco 10 with a 220-hp Wright J-5 engine, which he rebuilt and customised with leather and rubber padding in the cockpit.
Although his directorial debut, the World War I film ‘Hell’s Angels,’ did not recoup its production costs, the picture became a big hit due to the outstanding air combat sequences. The 23-year-old Hughes’ movie depicted one of the fiercest dogfights ever captured on film, featuring a steady exchange of blistering gunfire and aerobatic manoeuvring of over 40 planes. To fund the movie production, Hughes was using his family oil business profits as the investment.
How Hughes made the famous ‘Hell’s Angels’ scene happen
Impressed by Paramount’s 1927 war drama ‘Wings’success, Hughes decided to make his own flying film ‘Hell’s Angels.’ He started to gather a crew of the most skilful pilots, including the top stunt pilot of his day Frank Tomick who helped Hughes acquire the needed number of planes and recruit skilled pilots.
Hughes aimed to make his film as realistic as possible, which forced him to acquire as many WWI planes as he could find. Eventually, Hughes purchased around 40 planes, including five D.VIIs, two Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5as, two Sopwith Snipes, Thomas-Morse S-4C Scouts doubled as Sopwith Camels, Curtiss JN-4 ‘Jennys’, Travel Air 2000s (‘Wichita Fokkers’) and a massive, twin-engine Sikorsky S-29A. Several of the planes, including the Sikorsky S-29A, were transformed into machines which would resemble German warbirds. To fly them, Hughes hired professional stunt pilots, including Roscoe Turner, Frank Clarke, Al Wilson, Roy Wilson, Leo Nomis, Ira Reed, Ross Cooke and Maurice ‘Loop Loop’Murphy.
The film-production process was tough and marked by the deaths of several pilots and a mechanic, costly delays and conflicts between the perfectionist Hughes and the rest of the filming crew. ‘Hell’s Angels’ was finally released on 17 May 1930. The production costs reached $2.8 million, making the film one of the most expensive movies ever made at that time.
Latter aviation innovations and escape from public life
After his career in Hollywood, Hughes concentrated on aviation. In 1932, he established The Hughes’ Aircraft Company, which eventually became a major aerospace and defence contractor. Hughes personally set a series of aviation records. In 1935, he established the world’s speed record of 352.46 miles (567.23 km) per hour flying an airplane of his design over land. Hughes’ latter records included a transcontinental flight from Burbank, California, to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds and an around-the-world flight in a Lockheed 14, which lasted three days, 19 hours and 17 minutes. Interested in commercial aviation, Hughes acquired almost six million or about 76% shares of airline stock, including Trans World Airlines (TWA), Air West and Northeast Airlines shares, in the period between 1939 and 1970.
In collaboration with TWA President Jack Frye, Hughes prepared specifications for a new four-engine aircraft that would have more range and speed than the twin‐engine DC‐3. Hughes directed ventures with Lockheed, including the Constellation for TWA. The machine was well-received for its record speeds and helped TWA regain its popularity in the market. During World War II, Hughes focused on military aviation and acquired several government contracts, notably for the Hughes’ XF-11 and the H-4 Hercules. Nicknamed Spruce Goose, the plane was intended to transport troops and materials across the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. H-4 Hercules was completed in 1947, but flew only once and never went into production.
Howard Hughes piloted all the planes that he designed and he experienced several air crashes. After another air accident, always introverted and reclusive Hughes eventually removed himself from the public and settled in the penthouse of the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, Nevada. He conducted his business from there. Hughes spent his last days often changing his location and died in 1976 whilst en route to Houston for medical treatment.