Hughes H-1 Racer
| Hughes H-1 Racer | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| The H-1 Racer at the National Air and Space Museum | |
| Role |
Racing aircraft Long-range aircraft [for record attempt] |
| Manufacturer | Hughes Aircraft |
| Designer | Richard Palmer |
| First flight | September 13, 1935 |
| Primary user | Howard Hughes |
| Produced | 1935 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Career | |
| Registration | NR258Y |
| Preserved at | National Air and Space Museum |
The Hughes H-1 is a racing aircraft built by Hughes Aircraft in 1935. It set a world airspeed record and a transcontinental speed record across the United States. The H-1 Racer was the last aircraft built by a private individual to set the world speed record; most aircraft to hold the honor since have been military designs.
During his work on his movie Hell's Angels, Howard Hughes employed Glenn Odekirk to maintain the fleet of over 100 aircraft used in the production. The two men shared a common interest in aviation and hatched a plan to build a record-beating aircraft. The aircraft was given many names, but is commonly known as the H-1. It was the first aircraft model produced by the Hughes Aircraft company.
Design studies began in 1934 with an exacting, large scale model (over two feet in length) that was tested in the California Institute of Technology wind tunnel, revealing a speed potential of 365 mph.
Streamlining was a paramount design criterion resulting in "one of the cleanest and most elegant aircraft designs ever built." Many groundbreaking technologies were developed during the construction process, including individually machined flush rivets that left the aluminium skin of the aircraft completely smooth. The H-1 also had retractable landing gear to further increase the speed of the aircraft, including a fully retractable hydraulically actuated tail skid. It was fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-1535 twin-row 14-cylinder radial engine of 1,535 in³ (25.2 L), which although originally rated at 700 hp (522 kW), was tuned to put out over 1,000 horsepower (750 kW).
Due to two different roles being envisioned for the racing aircraft, a set of short-span wings for air racing and speed records and a set of "long" wings for cross-country racing were prepared.
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