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1937 Howard Hughes airplane flight speed record...
1937 Howard Hughes airplane flight speed record...
Item # 722110
January 20, 1937
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, January 20, 1937
* Aviator & film producer Howard Hughes
* Transcontinental airplane speed flight record
* Los Angeles to New York City
The top of page 12 has a two column heading: "Pilot Hughes' Close Call On Record Speed Flight" with subhead. (see images)
Complete 30+ pages, light toning at the margins, some small binding holes along the spine, generally in very nice condition.
background: On January 19, 1937, Howard Hughes piloted his custom-built Hughes H‑1 Racer on a record-setting nonstop transcontinental flight from Burbank, California, to Newark, New Jersey, covering roughly 2,490 miles in 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds. Departing at 2:14 a.m. PST and landing at 12:42 p.m. EST, Hughes shattered the previous coast-to-coast speed record by more than two hours, averaging about 332 miles per hour at altitudes between 14,000 and 18,000 feet. The H‑1 Racer, featuring advanced aerodynamic innovations for the time—such as flush riveting, retractable landing gear, and a long-wing configuration for greater fuel capacity—was designed under Hughes’s own direction, emphasizing speed and efficiency. This flight demonstrated that a privately built aircraft could achieve unprecedented performance, earning Hughes widespread acclaim and solidifying the H‑1 Racer’s place as a milestone in aviation history; the aircraft is now preserved at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Category: The 20th Century
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