Langston Hughes: The Silver Bullet
Hughes, hired a team of designers, craftsmen, engineers, and piolets who worked with him on “Hell’s Angles.” At the peak of the depression, these men were happy just to have a job, let alone an interesting one that allowed them to work for Hughes. Together the team help him build his plane “Hughes H-1 Racer” also known as “The Silver Bullet.” On September 13, 1935 Hughes set the world’s record for flying land planes, at 352 mile per hour.
Hughes was not a stranger to setting records. Another record was set by Hughes in 1937. He set a transcontinental record; making the world’s greatest long-distance speed flight from Los Angelas to Newark, New Jersey. It took him seven hours and twenty-eight minutes, an improvement from his own record. In
1938, Hughes took three days and nineteen hours to fly around the world. In 1939, Hughes purchased a share of the Trans World Airlines stock for $7 million and took control of the airlines, but later he was told by the federal court to sell his shares. In 1942-43, Hughes designed an American fighter and bomber plane, named Hughes D-2. The plane never passed the flight test but paved the say for high prototype military reconnaissance aircraft, Hughes XF-11.
The XF-11 was designed for the United Sates Air Force. In 1943, only two prototypes were subjected to Senate investigation, out of one hundred orders. During his 1946 flight on his XF-11, Hughes crashed the aircraft in Beverly Hills California and sustained serious injuries. This was a turning point for Hughes mental health. Many of his colleagues noticed changes in him that showed behavior similar to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and an uncanny fear of germs.
Hughes was not a stranger to setting records. Another record was set by Hughes in 1937. He set a transcontinental record; making the world’s greatest long-distance speed flight from Los Angelas to Newark, New Jersey. It took him seven hours and twenty-eight minutes, an improvement from his own record. In
1938, Hughes took three days and nineteen hours to fly around the world. In 1939, Hughes purchased a share of the Trans World Airlines stock for $7 million and took control of the airlines, but later he was told by the federal court to sell his shares. In 1942-43, Hughes designed an American fighter and bomber plane, named Hughes D-2. The plane never passed the flight test but paved the say for high prototype military reconnaissance aircraft, Hughes XF-11.
The XF-11 was designed for the United Sates Air Force. In 1943, only two prototypes were subjected to Senate investigation, out of one hundred orders. During his 1946 flight on his XF-11, Hughes crashed the aircraft in Beverly Hills California and sustained serious injuries. This was a turning point for Hughes mental health. Many of his colleagues noticed changes in him that showed behavior similar to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and an uncanny fear of germs.