1930s Replica to Scream Again

A number of world record attempts are being scheduled for Jim Wright's replica of Howard Hughes's famous H-1 Racer. Aircraft Spruce & Specialty will sponsor each attempt.

Hughes designed the famous Racer along with Richard Palmer, intending to test new theories about aerodynamics and set a number of speed records. The technology incorporated in the H-1, and the resulting performance was way ahead of its time, setting new standards in design and construction.  After nearly four decades of inactivity, the Racer was taken out of storage and donated to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in 1975.

Jim Wright and his construction team invested 35,000 man-hours over 10 years, and spent $1 million on parts and materials, including the over 20,000 rivets in the process of getting the replica to the flightline.

The Hughes Racer is considered by many pilots to be the most beautiful aircraft, with the most graceful lines, to ever fly. Hughes was successful in setting a 352-mph 3-kilometer record on September 13, 1935 and then, with a slightly extended wingspan of 31'9", broke his own earlier transcontinental record by two hours, going from Los Angeles to Newark in 7:28:25 and averaging 332 mph.

"Howard pushed the airplane hard in his record attempts," said Jim Wright, "but we really believe the H-1 is capable of a lot more than the prototype achieved in the mere 42 hours total time it accumulated. We'll be doing some performance tweaking that should take the H-1 way beyond what it accomplished in the mid-30s."

"We were thrilled when we got to see the results of Jim Wright�s obsession with the inspired and inspirational H-1," said Aircraft Spruce president Jim Irwin. "Back in 1935, Howard Hughes quickly established the fact that he had the world's fastest single engine aircraft and now we all have a chance to watch the legend being extended by setting new speed records, including those set by Hughes. After the Spirit of St. Louis, this may well be the most-exciting single seat aircraft anyone ever designed. We are truly honored to be accepted as part of the H-1 program."

FMI: www.aircraftspruce.com/index.php; www.wrightools.com/hughes