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During his work on the movie Hell's Angels, Howard Hughes employed Glenn Odekirk to maintain the fleet of over 100 aircraft used in the production. The two men had a common interest in aviation and hatched a plan to build a record-beating aircraft. The plane was given many names, but is commonly known as the H-1 -- the first model produced by Hughes Aircraft Corporation. Many groundbreaking technologies were developed during the construction process, including individually machined flush rivets that left the aluminium skin of the aircraft completely smooth. It was fitted with a twin-row 14-cylinder radial engine, of approximately 18 liters, putting out over 1,000 horsepower.
The H-1 first flew in 1935 and promptly broke the world speed record with Hughes at the controls, clocking 352 mph average over 4 timed passes. Hughes apparently ran the plane out of fuel and managed to crash-land without serious damage to either himself or H-1. The aircraft was refitted and subsequently was flown from Los Angeles to New York non-stop, again flown by Hughes.
A replica of the H-1 was built by Jim Wright of Oregon, and first flew in 2002, but sadly was destroyed in a crash in 2003, killing Wright.
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