Whispers

By Dennis J. Parker
   

    Cottage Grove is a small town at the southern end of the Willamette Valley in western Oregon. It's a picturesque and quite town kept lush and green by the frequent rain that comes in from the Pacific Ocean. Dotted with covered bridges in and around the town, it could be a place out of a Norman Rockwell picture. Early one morning the local airport ramp was the scene of a small gathering of people who had stopped in to see an unusual aircraft. I had to smile a little as the aircraft taxied by. The airplane was built from scratch by a small group of dedicated individuals that referred to themselves as "The Racer Team". The fuselage of the craft was built out of aluminum and had been polished to a mirror like finish. The bright morning sun sparkled brilliantly off the aircraft as it made its way toward the runway threshold. The effect was like the sparkle of light catching the many different facets of a fine cut diamond as it is turned about. The workmanship is flawless and was obviously shaped by the hands of men who were proud of what they did. The smooth flowing lines that blend the engine, wing, and fuselage into one graceful shape is unlike any other aircraft ever seen, except for one. It is an elegant and graceful design and seems inspired by the beautiful things in the world. Things that are rare and precious. As usual, the airplane drew a small, unexpected crowd and (as usual) there were grins from ear to ear. I was humored by a gentleman's comment; "They don't make 'em like that anymore." I was humored because the gentleman was wrong. We did make one - and then we flew it.

    Howard Hughes was the builder of the original Hughes H-1B (serial #1), which now sits in a place of honor in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. Back in 1935, he flew that aircraft to a new land speed record and for a brief period of time was the fastest person ever to pilot a land airplane. He had insisted on piloting the aircraft himself. He was a good pilot, but he did not have the experience of a seasoned test pilot. His friends had pleaded with him to allow a more experienced pilot make the attempt, but Howard Hughes would not allow it. This was his aircraft, and he would fly it. In all of history it is a rare distinction for the same individual to design, build, then fly an aircraft to a world speed record. There have been many great aircraft designers, powerful industrial builders, and many skillful aviators, but rare in history are all three combined as in Howard Hughes. He was a man with remarkable ambition who built his dreams for himself instead of waiting for the world to create them for him. He had a natural genius for all things mechanical and a natural love for aviation and flight. He conducted himself as one does who is possessed of a great sense of purpose, and he was also a man with a keen sense of style. He had an eye for beauty and a lust for speed. He was also a secretive man, a quite person in life and a haunting enigma for the future. Much of his life and his accomplishments are somewhat of a mystery, and the H-1 Racer is no exception. The history books only touch briefly on the H-1, an airplane that Hughes reportedly considered one of his greatest achievements. Much later in life, when his personal demons had nearly won the battle for his soul, he would still speak fondly of that aircraft. Though the happy days were far-gone, the pride of that achievement remained. It was a good memory.

    Hughes shattered two world records in the original H-1 before he retired the aircraft into storage. Eventually he donated it to the Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. There it sits today in a place of honor at the Air & Space museum in Gallery 105, "The Golden Age of Flight." A cherished prize housed along side of the other flying machines that make our nation proud. It was that age between the great World Wars when so many advances were made in aviation, and rumor of war was only a distant rumble. As beautiful and elegant as the H-1 is, there is something forlorn or perhaps lonely about the machine as it sits in the glow of museum lights. There is an aura around the airplane unlike any I have ever seen. It leaves us wondering if there are lessons that we should be learning. What was Howard Hughes teaching us with this effort? A museum is a place of learning but I have to wonder, what is it that cannot be taught when there is roof between plane and sky, and when home is a gallery, number 105? Curators and historians live to protect and preserve such treasures so generations after can get a taste of what great men did. That is well and good, and is as it should be. Aircraft like this are rare and are a part of our heritage. They are pleasing to look upon, and each has its own story to tell, but there is something different about this aircraft. Something that whispers to us from across the years. Whispers from other men now long passed, but once young, proud, and full of passion. Though now nearly an antique, this aircraft could still blow the doors off modern propeller driven aircraft - and do so after flying more than three thousand miles without stopping for fuel!

    The design sprung from the mind of a uniquely talented man who emerged from history as an American legend. Remarkably, this was Hughes' first design. It was not the product of several prototypes, endlessly refined and tested until finally the design was right. Hughes and his team got it right the first time. This aircraft had only three hours on it when it broke the world speed record in 1935, and had less than forty hours on it when it landed at Newark NJ after breaking the transcontinental record in 1937. The H-1 design went far beyond that of technical advancement. The aircraft speaks directly to personal achievement. It is in this part of his legacy, that Howard Hughes has left behind him a gift to the future. Not just a gift of technical merit, impressive speed, or artistic talent, but rather a gift of inspiration. It is a bittersweet affair that such a gift be destined to spend its days behind velvet rope.

    After setting the transcontinental speed record in 1937, Howard Hughes would never fly the H-1 Racer again. It is not known if he ever looked upon the aircraft again after that day in 1937, but evidence shows that he probably did not. History would never learn why Hughes chose to forsake further flight in the H-1. Perhaps he had proved his point, and that was good enough. Maybe he was too busy in other affairs afterward to find the time. Maybe... but could there be another possibility? Was there something else that this quite man from Texas kept to himself, something revealed to him on that journey to Newark that was unexpected and frightening? Did this beautiful, shining mistress become for a moment ugly, dark, and terrifying? Record breaking in such powerful aircraft is a risky affair, even in fair weather. He had, after all, taken off on that flight in the middle of the night in cloudy conditions (for no good reason that anyone could tell). Fate often hunts its prey in the clouds over high terrain in the mountains. That was a very risky thing to do, but Howard had often tempted fate and won. Perhaps this time the victory was narrow. Whatever the reason, the Hughes H-1 Racer, serial number one, was relegated to a future storage and eventually that of public display on the ground. The world would have to wait almost 65 years to see an H-1 Racer fly again.

    That moment came on the morning of Monday, September 9, 2002, when at 7:15 the Hughes H-1 Racer (serial number two) rose into the skies above Oregon, and for the first time a new generation was witness to a Hughes H-1 Racer in flight. The event went largely unnoticed, and was attended by just a few curious onlookers plus those that had helped build the aircraft. The builders were especially proud and in that moment they all stood a little bit taller. The aircraft had taken over 35,000 man-hours to build, and had taken over four years to complete. It was a heartfelt moment that represented profound achievement. It's not often that we get to see a dream come true, and even rarer still to be a part of it. Dreams of flight are ancient among men, and watching the H-1 soar ever-higher spoke to those dreams. There was a sense of wonder and awe in its flight. There are feelings touched by inspiration that bring tears to the eyes of men, and it was with some effort that a few held them back. A sense of history being made was heavy in the air. Our world had changed just a little bit, our souls grew more profound. Something important had happened that day; the H-1 had returned.

    In so many ways, Howard Hughes had shown the world what could be accomplished when one had the will to achieve. Even before he built his vast empire, he built the first H-1. Whatever else Howard Hughes was, he demonstrated a genius for aircraft design and forward thinking. With the H-1 he showed the world how aircraft should be built, but it was even more than that. He taught a generation how to define themselves by defining for themselves a challenge. His works would endure through the years and he would be known to the future as one of the great men in history. He had lost his parents early in life, and he had no siblings. He had no one to lean on. He had to prove himself to himself alone, which is the toughest one of all. We are left to wonder if he ever did. It was now an entire lifetime in the future that another man had taken up and met the challenge that Hughes had helped to define. He and his team poured all their efforts towards meeting their goals and in the process have given something back to the world that had been sorely missed.

    Unraveling the history of the H-1 Racer and of Hughes during that era was an intriguing challenge. The impact that the original aircraft had on aviation made it a natural choice for a team that wanted to build a one of a kind reproduction. Barely forty hours were flown on the original. Yet, according to the Smithsonian Institute, "The Hughes H-1 racer was a major milestone aircraft on the road to such radial engine-powered World War II fighters as the American Grumman F6F Hellcat and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, the Japanese Mitsubishi Type 0 (Zero), and the German Focke-WuIf FW 190." Its performance was as astonishing as its practical operational requirements. It was the practical nature of the aircraft that set it apart from other speedsters of the day. This is part of what made Howard Hughes so proud of the design. Not only did the H-1 break the world speed record at 352 miles per hour, it could fly from standard 3000 foot dirt runways and had normal flight characteristics. In addition to that it had an almost unimaginable ultimate range of nearly 4000 miles!

    Since the goal of the Racer Team was to recreate the aircraft as precisely as possible, the Team needed access to the original. Accurate measurement of the smooth flowing fuselage required the team to devise an unusual measuring system. They started with scale aircraft drawings made years earlier by legendary aircraft artist, Paul Matt. His scale drawings of aircraft have a reputation for a high degree of accuracy. Using the Paul Matt drawings of The Racer, estimates were made regarding fuselage and wing shape. Then reverse templates were cut from plywood using these estimates. These were a kind of "cookie-cutter" reverse image of the fuselage that could be gently laid over the skin of the original. The Smithsonian graciously allowed members of The Team access to the H-1 outside of normal business hours to make measurements. The reverse templates were held up to the actual H-1, and notes were made where they did not match. Several trips to Washington D.C. were required during the design phase. With each trip, the Racer Team gained new appreciation for the genius of Howard Hughes. The team had suspected that the aircraft held design secrets, but the genius of this design was far beyond what they had expected. Every system had been meticulously engineered right down to the individual rivets. It became obvious with each passing visit that there would be substantially more work involved with the reproduction than they had at first estimated.

    Documentation was key for accuracy. Hundreds of pictures were taken, and pages upon pages of notes were made. While this work was being done, hundreds of man-hours were spent in research. Calls went out and many contacts were made. It seemed like everyone that had any knowledge of the original H-1 was eager to help. The team was impressed with companies such as Pratt & Whitney, Stoddard Hamilton, and others who happily opened their historical archives to help us understand Hughes and the H-1 better. We learned from the historian at Pratt & Whitney, Jack Connors, the history of the R-1535 that is installed on the reproduction, as well as the history of the original R-1535 that is installed on serial #1 in the Smithsonian. They actually have documented history on each and every engine that they have built. It turns out that Pratt & Whitney had leased the engine to Hughes for the record-breaking attempt. Mr. Connors noted (with a chuckle) that there was no record that Hughes ever actually paid Pratt & Whitney for the engine! An original test engineer on the R-1535, Skip Eveleth, was anxious to share his story about his dealings with Hughes. He told the team that the R-1535 engine was one of the most trouble free twin row engines ever built, and was free from the cooling problems that plagued other engines. The engine also had a small frontal diameter, which is probably what appealed to Hughes. Skip worked directly with Howard Hughes on the project. Skip was a test engineer on the R-1535 in the 1930's and assisted in tracking down the original performance figures for the R-1535 for our Racer Team. There were 2880 of the R-1535 engines made, and today they are exceedingly rare. Most are believed to have been destroyed in World War II. It is believed that the engine installed on the H-1 Racer Reproduction (serial #2) is the only known flying example of a P&W R-1535 in the world.

    Howard was anxious to work with Skip to obtain ultimate performance figures on the engine. At the time, these were considered classified by the company. Standard performance figures could be had, but Hughes wanted to know how hard the engine could be pushed before it came apart. Pratt & Whitney had this data because they push their engines all the way to failure. This is destructive testing, but it is important for them to know when the engine will fail. This lets them set the public performance figures moderately lower to ensure reliability. Apparently, Hughes was so persistent to obtain the ultimate performance data that eventually management in that division accommodated him - but they could not do so openly. According to Skip, Howard was directed to an office that by "sheer coincidence" had the performance figures laid open upon the desk. Howard was instructed to wait in the room while they reviewed his request for the data. Skip's boss returned a short time later to inform Hughes that his request for the information was denied. With a grin, Hughes replied that he would no longer need it. Skip also recalled, (with a chuckle) that when Howard Hughes called him to discuss the data, that he called him collect. Skip asked his boss if he could accept collect calls to which his boss replied, "Only from Howard Hughes."   

    The Reproduction team had many discussions with one of the original design engineers on the H-1, Mr. John Newbury. A man in his early 90's, John contacted the project as the aircraft was nearing completion. He was anxious to share his memories and revealed much about the project, and what it was like to work for Howard Hughes. He too was proud of his contribution to the original H-1. He explained that Hughes kept track of the doings of his employees closely. Apparently, Howard had a habit of wearing sneakers, which allowed him to walk about very quietly. Howard would often stealthily enter a work area to monitor his staff without being detected. He was not always successful with this though. John recalled with humor that at times Howard would go a considerable time between washings of his sneakers - the odor of which would then betray his presence!

    The reproduction team spent several hundred man-hours trying to locate the original blueprints. There were several leads and tips, and the prints were tracked as far as Lakeland Florida. Unfortunately, we failed to locate them. This challenged the design team to "back-engineer" the structures in the aircraft that are hidden from view. Considerable engineering time went into this back-engineering. It is critical that all the loads and stresses are properly engineered for if the aircraft is to stay together during high speed flight. Old photos of the internal wing structure were pored over. Additionally, the team obtained the wind tunnel data done on the original aircraft (GALCIT report #135). Back in 1934, the original Hughes team spent over 90 days at the wind tunnel at the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (GALCIT). This was done at enormous expense, but it didn't matter; Howard Hughes did not make guesses or leave things to chance. In his mind he knew how things had to be done. He was insistent that things got done right, regardless of the expense.

    The implementation phase overlapped the planning/design phase for the building of the reproduction. Major factors involved with the implementation were the coordination of subcontractors, selecting talented and compatible team members, coordination with suppliers, and managing the hundreds of visitors. There were many challenges in the implementation phase, the greatest probably being the coordination of subcontractors. Subcontractors set their own schedules and this was outside of the control of the reproduction team. Time estimates were often exceeded, sometimes delaying the reproduction team. Their work however was beyond reproach, and the decision to use sub-contractor for some of the assemblies was the right one. All tolled over 35,000 man-hours went into the reproduction. Some of the most noted and talented artisans in the industry were employed on the project. The project's reputation within the aviation industry became well known.

    Selecting team members was straightforward. All were local pilots, all had experience with completing experimental aircraft projects (some award winning), and two are certified aircraft mechanics. A total of five team members constituted the main team: Jim Wright, Ron Englund, Dave Payne, Mike Mann, and Al Sherman. Support to the team is provided by employees of Wright Machine Tool. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Local radio personality and pilot, Bill Barret, expressed his views in an open comment posted to the Racer Team on their forum. Bill was present at one of the initial flights and said, "... I tried to express to Jim (Wright), how much the H-1 project demonstrates the sometimes intangible American Spirit. I was in the Saturday throng that watched and listened with childlike excitement as Jim taxied out for take-off. When the H-1 surged off the runway and climbed powerfully into the blue, I was proud to see their dream realized. Although tucked away in a small hangar in Cottage Grove, Oregon this project speaks loud and clear to the spirit of America. Individuals grasping a challenge and seeing it become a gleaming reality. Jim and dedicated crew saw the goal, and did the hard work with obvious skill and patience. I was delighted to see the H-1 fly and to share its' story with my children ..."

    It is difficult to capture (in words) the scope of an undertaking like this. I have been around a lot of experimental homebuilt aircraft, and have even flown a few. Building an aircraft from scratch is not easy. It has been likened by some to the challenge of climbing a mountain. In that sense, the Hughes H-1 Reproduction is the Mount Everest of experimental homebuilt aircraft. It has taken the talents of dozens of people to make it all come together. It has taken stubborn patience, hard work and an unprecedented attention to detail to reproduce this airplane. So exact is the reproduction that the FAA designated the aircraft as serial #2. The list of talents employed to complete the project include: machinists, engineers, wood workers, metal workers, mechanics, assemblers, painters, electricians, secretaries and computer draftsmen. Above all else, it took the dream of one man who wanted to be the fastest man in the world, and the later dream of another who wanted to recreate that vision.

    I was once asked why anybody would want to tackle such a project. There really isn't a single canned answer to this. This aircraft is many different things to different people. It is tough to put into words. There is something timeless about the aircraft, something ethereal. A senior editor with a major aviation magazine once wrote us,"...it appears as a silver apparition, a ghostly incarnation of one of the most beautiful airplanes ever built." On September 13, 2002, Jim Wright flew the H-1 Reproduction to a new speed record (in category). The NAA man in charge of officials at the event noted later that his assistant had tears in her eyes as she watched Jim Wright sail over the timing gates in the H-1 Reproduction. She was not alone. There were thousands of people in attendance that day, and from time to time men and women alike confided quietly that the sight of the H-1 in flight had brought tears. That is the power of inspiration. That is the power of the legacy that Howard Hughes left behind.

    My suggestion to those that might still ask "why?" is this: take a look for yourself at the Hughes H-1 Reproduction. Go watch it fly. Let the roar of the engine wash through you when it takes off. Watch it fly and remember what a rare sight it is. When it lands get up close to the airplane. Take a long look and see what those guys built, both then and now. If you still have to ask "why?", you wouldn't understand the answer.

Authors notes: Dennis Parker is part of the design and research team for the Howard Hughes H-1 Racer Reproduction. His role in the project included design aspects as well as extensive historical research regarding the original H-1. Only two H-1 Racers were ever built: the one that Hughes built and flew in 1935, and the one that Jim Wright and crew built and flew in 2002. www.wrightools.com/hughes