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Hughes H-1 Racer Test Flight, US Transcontinental Record Flight

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On Sept. 13, 1935, one month after its first flight, Howard Hughes flew the H-1 Racer over a specially instrumented course near Santa Ana, CA, and set a world landplane speed record of 352.39 mph.

On January 19, 1937, Hughes set a new transcontinental speed record by flying non-stop from Los Angeles, CA to New York City, NY in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

The Hughes Aircraft Co., a division of the Hughes Tool Co., was formed in 1934 by Howard Hughes to develop the H-1 Racer.

He built the wood and metal single-seat monoplane in Charles Babb's hangar at Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, Calif. The Hughes team took 18 months to design and build the plane and to extensively test the H-1 model in the 200-mph wind tunnel at the California Institute of Technology's Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory.

Innovative features on the H-1 included a close-fitting bell-shaped engine cowling to reduce airframe drag and improve engine cooling; gently curving wing fillets between the wing and the fuselage to help stabilize the airflow, reduce drag, and prevent potentially dangerous eddying and tail buffeting; and retractable landing gear to reduce drag and increase speed and range. The landing gear were fitted so precisely that the gear fairings and doors were almost invisible. All rivets and joints were flush with the aircraft's skin and flathead screws were counter-sunk on the plywood wings. Its ailerons were designed to droop 15 degrees when flaps were fully extended to improve lift. The cockpit was smoothly faired and totally enclosed.

These innovations led to development of radial-engine-powered World War II fighters.

BI46688 (BIV15_H-1_01)

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Hughes H-1 Racer