Transport: Record Into Beet Patch

Into a beet field just off the racing course at Santa Ana, Calif, one day last week dived a big metal airplane in a swirl of black smoke. Plunking its belly down on the soft earth it suffered no more damage than a crumpled landing gear, dented fuselage, broken propeller. Cursing darkly, a handsome young man jumped out unscratchcd after having made the fastest flight in the history of landplanes.

The dissatisfied young man was Howard Hughes, 30-year-old bachelor, nephew of Author Rupert Hughes. A pilot since he was 14, this ultra-rich young oilman and cinema producer first burst over the horizon of national attention when he produced Hell’s Angels (TIME, June 9, 1930). Other cinema successes followed, but by 1932 Director Hughes had tired of Hollywood, turned back to aviation as a prime interest. Hiding under a pseudonym, he got a job as transport pilot for American Airways, managed to make one cross-country flight before officials discovered his identity. Next Pilot Hughes took to developing special racers which he flew with moderate success in U. S. air-meets. Latest of these was the husky red-winged plane which last week plopped him down in the beet patch when its fuel line abruptly clogged.

Built with great secrecy at a cost of $120,000, Hughes’s low-wing monoplane is equipped with a tremendous Wasp motor, a fuselage longer than the wingspan, a curious stilt-like landing gear which folds during flight. For two days Pilot Hughes had driven this big racer over the Santa Ana course. The first day he broke the landplane record with ease, lost the credit for it because of a technicality. The second day, he fulfilled all the requirements, had nearly finished when the mishap occurred. As he bent to inspect the damage, exuberant timers announced he had averaged 352.4 m.p.h.. needed only official confirmation to be declared record-holder.—* Still disgruntled, Pilot Hughes snapped: “It’ll go faster.”

Another world speed record was made last week by Major Alexander P. (“Sasha”) de Seversky, Russian War ace, inventor, president of the Seversky Aircraft Corp. Accompanied only by his cocker spaniel, Vodka, he sent a 710-h. p. amphibian of his own design over a Detroit racecourse at 230.03 m.p.h., some 39 m.p.h. faster than the old mark. Unlike Record-Breaker Hughes, Pilot Seversky was well satisfied with his new amphibian record. But like Designer Hughes, Designer Seversky began tinkering his plane, muttered: “It’ll go faster.”

—*Previous landplane record was 314.3 m.p.h., held by France’s Raymond Delmotte. Still unequaled is the seaplane record of Italy’s Francesco (“Crazy Boy”) Agello—440.6 m.p.h.