Howard Hughes Standing with His First Plane

(Original Caption) Howard Hughes' first plane, the H-1, a featherweight midget, was the ancestor of his newly-built "flying boat," compared to Hughes' latest Goliath - had a wingspan of only 3 feet 8 inches, one 700-horsepower motor and weighed 6400 pounds. However it set a land plane speed record and a transcontinental speed record. It was the 1st smooth surface metal airplane and the 1st plane to have leading edge air ailerons and power-driven retractable landing gear. All these "firsts" later became standard.