ABSTRACT
The paper is about one great flyer who prominently contributed to aviation history. Howard Hughes’ contribution in the world of aviation has been immortal and beyond compare. He set world records in flying. He got involved in the making of the world’s first airplanes, satellites and helicopters. He is indeed an indelible mark in the history of aviation. Primarily, the innovative pursuits of Hughes Aircraft throughout most of his lifetime have become the benchmark or barometer for every other airline in the world today. Secondly, the U.S. military benefited much from Hughes Aircraft. Numerous projects have been built and designed by Howard Hughes. The electronic weapons control systems has been introduced by his company in the 1950s. This piece of device is constantly being remodeled by the companies under contract with the U.S. Air Force. Hughes had a hand in practically every company involved in aviation industry. From Lockheed to Boeing to the military, his creativity and ingenuity became a measurement of success not merely in flying planes but also in designing and building them.
INTRODUCTION
The emergence of airplanes became one of man’s greatest achievements for the twentieth century. It is a break through that no one deemed possible years before. For many, it became the parameter for the growth and development of technology. It became one of the corner stones of technology. Nobody imagined that flying was possible. But when the Wright Brothers made their first flight, mankind’s fascination for the sky and beyond reached a level of excitement. It thrilled people no end. It probably ranks as one of the greatest milestones in human history. Air shows became a common sight and entertainment for many people. World records were set and broken. Not only did it become a major technological machine, it became an investment and went on to be a pillar among the world’s industries.
Aviation history began when a number of companies were attracted to the possibility of planes to a new mode of transportation. But prior to that, men and women were just eager to ride with the fantasy and the remarkable feeling of being in the air. Famous and notable pilots like Linbergh, Yeager and Hughes to name a few had paved the way for businesses to share with their aeronautical talents and abilities. The first few years for aviation were practically a showcase of what pilots can do with flying machines. The show, however, attracted a lot of people including investors and entrepreneurs. Business persons saw something more beyond the breathtaking acrobats of planes. It saw a business opportunity waiting to be tapped.
Perhaps, there is no field in aviation history that has been so popular than in the combat zone. The successes of the Allied Forces during the First and Second World Wars were spelled by fighter planes. The military during the early part of the century was so focused on the battlefields. Generals were so concerned about winning it all on the ground. However, with the arrival of the fighter jets, tactical operation changed and saw the role of an aerial attack. Military commanders realized that snaring victory with guns, artilleries and tanks alone would take time and heavy casualties. To win wars, flying has a significant contribution. It demonstrates superiority and fire power that is hard to gain in land and sea battles.
The world saw perhaps the best aerial firepower during Desert Storm in Iraq in 1991. Jet fighters shredded the defenses of Saddam Hussein with a very limited casualty. Aerial coordination led by the F-117 Stealth fighters jammed the radars of Baghdad to pave way for the destruction of numerous satellite and communication lines by an array of the world’s advanced aircraft weapons. A fleet of F-16 Thunderbirds, F-14 Tomcats, F-15 Eagles, F-18 Hornets and Harrier Jump Jets joined the fray and paralyzed the defense missile systems of Iraq. It made easier for the Allied forces to mobilize and move on with the ground attack. Land plus air superiority made the war ended in a fast and efficient manner. In a couple of months, the Iraq war ended and Kuwait was liberated from the hands of Saddam Hussein.
The significance of fighter planes to clear the way for a ground attack was preceded during the Second World War by the Luftwaffe of the German Air Force. The term blitzkrieg was coined during the brilliant military campaign of the Germans during their quest for Europe. The tactical offensive allows the German infantry to launch an offensive after the air force wiped out most of the frontline defenses of the enemy. As the Luftwaffe fighter planes and the Stuka bombers of the German divisions cleared the battlefield, the Panzer divisions which consisted of German tanks made life easier for the ground troops to take over key enemy areas. During the same war, heroic deeds by the Spitfires of the British Royal Air Force against the Germans inspired the Allies to fight back and eventually turn the tide of war. Stories of aerial combat made the headlines ever since.
When the Second World War ended in 1945, airplanes took a different role. In addition to being utilized as weapons, business industries expanded its use and commercial planes became an important part of everyday life. Large companies built huge airplanes to interconnect countries in a very short period of time. It also allowed people to reach key destinations without too much difficulty. Aviation history was never the same again. The world saw the need to travel faster, and the plane became its immediate answer.
Numerous individuals dreamed of things. But few people actually realize those dreams. Aviation is a big investment. It takes more than creativity and skill to deal with airplanes. A lot of aviation pioneers in the past had contributed so much to the ever growing airline industry in the world today. But despite the difficulty to fly, design and maintain planes, these individuals push on to innovate. Large investments have been fueled by large business gains. But for the pioneers, it was not only about money, it was the passion to satisfy their love for flying. And they had been sharing that passion with people around the world today.
In this paper, we will dwell on one great aviator who made his indelible mark in aviation history. We will also tackle his great contributions to the world of aviation. He is Sir Howard Hughes.
A BORN AVIATOR
“The trouble with my life is that I do not think I am cut out to sit behind a desk”, said Hughes (http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/529/Lesson-1-Never-Compromise-on-Your-Goals.html). This was the declaration of a young Howard Hughes who loved golf more than studying. His passion for flying was fueled by an unforgotten event with his father when he was still fourteen years old. Father and son were watching a boat race pitting Yale and Harvard Universities. The older Hughes made a bet with his young son, picking Harvard to win. The proposed deal would allow the young Howard to choose anything he wanted should he win. The young man earlier saw an old seaplane anchored in front of their hotel one day. He asked his father to buy it for him since he won the bet. However, the father declined since the plane looked old and corroded. Instead, the older Hughes offered Howard a new boat. But the fourteen-year old pleaded no end that the father ended up buying the seaplane. “This was the very first contact that I had with flying,” Howard said (http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/529/Lesson-1-Never-Compromise-on-Your-Goals.html).
He was fourteen when he learned to fly planes. And it became a passion for the rest of his life. In fact, the man who grew up in Houston, Texas became an icon for the aviation industry. Howard Robard Hughes, born on December 24, 1905, has been a strong presence in the market built around airplanes. Although, he never finished high school, the young Hughes once attended a private school on Boston. With no interest in education, he agreed to sit during some of the classes in Cal-Tech which his father arranged by donating money. Hughes was attending Rice Institute in Houston when his father died. He dropped out soon after.
His interest in flying allowed him to become a skilled pilot. In fact, he worked once as a co-pilot for American Airways under the name of Charles W. Hughes. He resigned when his true identity was discovered. When he inherited Toolco, his father’s machine tool company, Hughes ventured on the development of airplanes. He wasted no time in founding the Hughes Aircraft Company which became a division of Toolco. At a young age, where his adrenaline is rushing and his passion for planes was unmatched, Hughes developed his first airplane. He named it the H-1 Racer. The Racer was a picture of Hughes personality during the 1930s. The plane’s matched his passion for speed. At that time, venturing on an airplane was quite dangerous.
The machine designed to fly had technical concerns which had not been addressed by many particularly because it took lots of finances to develop such projects. But Howard Hughes was a true aviator and a keen innovator. The H-1 Racer became an instrument for testing. Most of the deaths and accidents caused by flying in the early days were caused by engine trouble and aircraft movement. With the Racer, Hughes addressed the problems. Aerial flow was stabilized and the unstable movements of an aircraft, which caused a number of deaths, had been checked. The Racer went on to establish pace-setting records in speed. The 1930s was especially both a busy and a fun time for Hughes. He spent most of his moments fixing, adjusting and adding something to his aircraft. But for a greater part of the time, he was inside the cockpit and flying the plane at dangerous altitude. “I want to be remembered for only one thing – my contribution to aviation,” said Howard Hughes (http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/529/Howard-Hughes-Quotes.html).
TAKING ON THE REINS
Since his father’s business put him in position to deal with various machines, Howard Hughes played his part well in handling the company but he had his special attention on aircrafts. In 1939, he acquired a large number of stocks which led him to be the principal stockholder of the former Transcontinental and Western Air Inc. (TWA). Soon after, he immediately went to work. Boeing Stratoliner and Lockheed L-049 Constellation were acquired by the company. Hughes not only financed the project but actively participated in the designing of the planes. Earlier in 1937, he set a transcontinental speed record with his previous aircrafts. In 1944, dressing the Constellation in his signature color red, he flew the plane non-stop cross country in less than seven hours breaking his 1937 record in the process. It was uncommon for cross country air travel to be nonstop but Hughes saved eight hours of the trip upon reaching a definite destination.
In 1939, Hughes’ popularity caught TWA president Jack Frye who offered him with stocks from the company. Frye and the board members were in a middle of a heated discussion at that time over the purchase of new planes for TWA. When Hughes became the principal stockholder of the company, he made a deal with the aerospace giant Lockheed to manufacture sophisticated airplanes. The Constellation revolutionized flying as it became the benchmark for modern day planes. Modernizing TWA proved to be costly for Howard Hughes. His plan to purchase new jets from Boeing blew the company expenses out of proportion. Creditors pressured Hughes to give up TWA but he never give up on the company. Managing the airline became a problem due to its numerous expenses until it became to crumble. Although, he was holding seventy eight percent of the company shares, a power struggle soon emerged within the great company. Finally, in 1966, the federal court ordered Hughes to give up his shareholdings with TWA. His love for airplanes and flying did not discourage him getting involved with other airlines. He joined North East for a while, and then took over Air West which he later renamed as Hughes Air West. Because, he was greatly involved with Hollywood, he used Air West for flights to Las Vegas.
In 1942, Liberty boats owned by shipbuilder Henry Kaiser crossed the Atlantic to transport supplies from one country to the other in the midst of the Second World War. German U-boats, submerged in various points in the ocean sunk the ships to block the transfer of supplies. Kaiser was furious but he suggested the idea of large flying boats made of ply woods to do the job. Then President Franklin Roosevelt caught the idea and called up his friend Donald Douglas to build the flying boats. Douglas declined since the idea was simply untested. He felt that a lot of money would be wasted and that the planning would be difficult. Kaiser wouldn’t drop the idea that he encouraged Howard Hughes to join him in making the plan possible. Ten months was the specific period of time that Kaiser targeted to build a flying boat. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation handed out $18 million for the project. However, when Kaiser found that the flying boat was still in its design stage after ten months, he left Hughes with the building process. The H-4 Hercules was completed and flew only once in November 2, 1947. Nicknamed Spruce Goose, it was the largest plane ever built at that time with a length of 67 meters, a 98-meter wingspan and a 24-meter height. It could fly up to 70 feet in the air for a mile at a speed of 80 miles per hour.
Since it took him longer than expected to build the Spruce Goose, the United States Senate made an investigation on the funds released earlier for the project. The inquiry was further fueled with the addition of the building up of the XF-11 photoreconnaissance plane program. Hughes’ disregard for military secrecy antagonized him from numerous top officers in the Armed Forces. Investigations continued and critical reports were made regarding the issue. It took some time for Hughes to build and to test the two planes. But shortly after the completion, he turned over the projects to the military and Howard Hughes was dropped off the hook. Apparently, there were no more grounds for an inquiry. “Never make a decision,” joked Hughes. “Let someone else make it and then if it turns out to be the wrong one, you can disclaim it, and if it is the right one you can abide by it.” (http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/529/Lesson-2-Surround-Yourself-With-the-Best.html).
BUSINESS TAKE OFF
The Toolco division Hughes Aircraft ballooned to an 80,000-personnel company. Since Hughes group was in business during the Second World War, he created Hughes Electronics to supply the U.S. Air Force and Navy with weapons systems. The division went on to become the single largest supplier of systems in America at that time. In 1948, two engineers, Simon Ramo and Dean Wooldridge joined Hughes and created the concept of an electronic weapons control system. The project caught the United States by storm because of the sophistication the product brought. The air system is a radar equipped with a search and destroy locator which could pinpoint the enemy at any given time and weather. It became profitable during the 1950s.
Around this time, Howard Hughes worked closely with the Air Force. The F-98 Falcon, a Guided Air Rocket was built with an astounding speed of Mach 2. It was to be an unpiloted interceptor missile. The first air-to-air guided weapon, the AIM 4F Super Falcon, was added to the Air Force’s capability in 1955. Heading towards the 50s, Howard Hughes decided to expand his manufacturing operations. He added an interest to build helicopters. The huge Sky Crane was built in 1947.
Originally a design from helicopter manufacturer company Kellett, it became operational in October 1952 but its flight was unsuccessful. “If I have made a mistake in the design, then I’m the one who should pay for it,” said Hughes (http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/529/Lesson-3-Be-HandsOn.html). He then shifted his ideas to build light choppers. The division tested the two-seat Model 269A helicopter in 1956. It was to become the Model 300, a bubbled-enclosed chopper which would become a key sight among television networks, police stations and various private industries. The OH-6 Cayuse chopper soon followed in May 1965. Hughes bided helicopters for the government at the lowest price to allow him to monopolize the market later but his ploy was unsuccessful.
In 1953, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute was born. At the same time, a new Hughes Aircraft was formed for the charitable foundation for medical research. Skeptics believed that he just built the Institute as a way of cutting back on the tax accounts for his businesses. That belief was further aggravated when Hughes Aircraft added another division with Hughes Space and Communications System in 1961. The new wing was actually a restructured Space and Communications Group and the Hughes Space Systems Division.
The new division was a new investment for Hughes in the field of space program which he dominated for the next forty years. Syncom, the world’s first synchronous communications satellite was built in 1963. The space project spearheaded a new era in Howard Hughes’ passion for air technology. Because of his innovation, about 40 percent of the communications satellite being used worldwide came from Hughes’ space programs. Phases of development kept Hughes busy. It was thought that he was never satisfied building a huge financial empire. But it was the passion for developing machines involved in flight that drove the aviation pioneer to pursue numerous expansion programs.
In 1966, already armed with large profits from a number of investments, his company launched the ATS-1 which became the first geosynchronous satellite with meteorological observations capability. A break though soon followed during that same year when Surveyor 1 made the first fully controlled soft landing on the moon. Howard Hughes continued working closely with the government. And in 1984, he honored another contract to launch the Leasat satellite which formed the global military communications network. The space program got mixed up with Hughes’ new technologies. Pioneer Venus came in 1978 to become the first extensive radar mapping system in that planet. Galileo, the first spacecraft to penetrate Jupiter’s atmosphere came in the 1990s.
Howard Hughes never saw the extent of progress which his company made as he died in April 5, 1976 at the age of 70. During that same year, Hughes Helicopters replaced Toolco Aircraft Division. The Collier Trophy was awarded to the new company in 1983 for producing the AH-64 Apache, the best known army attack helicopter in the world. But prior to that, a record of 6,000 Apaches were made by December of 1981. With the famous innovator and business genius Howard Hughes gone, the existence of his companies played in the hands of other major corporations in the business.
McDonnell Douglas acquired Hughes Helicopters in 1984. General Motors bought Hughes Aircraft from the Medical Institute foundation and merged it with Delco Electronics. The company was later renamed Hughes Electronics. With big investments involved in the aeronautical industry, mergers and takeovers were a common practice among business people. The missile systems program of the aerospace company General Dynamics was bought by Hughes Aircraft in August 1992. By fall of 1997, another merger involving Hughes Electronics and Raytheon was made. In 2000, Boeing bought Hughes Space and Communications and its satellite projects. The company was renamed Boeing Satellite Systems.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Howard Hughes is not merely a typical flyer. His impact in the field of aviation can best be exemplified by two things. Primarily, the innovative pursuits of Hughes Aircraft throughout most of his lifetime have become the benchmark or barometer for every other airline in the world today. TWA continues to exist up to the present. It can be recalled that before he joined the airline giant, its board of directors are feuding over the company’s plan to purchase and develop new jets. The role of Boeing and Lockheed in manufacturing airplanes for TWA has been a breakthrough.
The Boeing Stratoliner and the Lockheed Constellation are critically acclaimed by the world. There are a lot of doubters. Nobody believes that a combination of speed, high altitude flying and huge size can navigate the open skies. Hughes is involved in designing and flying both planes. Development is a constant process for all airline companies. The world bear witness to the ability of Boeing 757s and Boeing 747s flying twenty four hours around the globe. Able to accommodate numerous passengers, fly at full speed and able to stay at high altitude levels, most of today’s jumbo jets are an important part of people from all walks of life. Traveling by plane with all the innovation in the world has never been exciting and safe.
Secondly, the U.S. military benefited much from Hughes Aircraft. Numerous projects have been built and designed by Howard Hughes. The electronic weapons control systems has been introduced by his company in the 1950s. This piece of device is constantly being remodeled by the companies under contract with the U.S. Air Force. Every fighter plane in every country is armed with the weapons systems which Hughes Aircraft patented. Air combat has never been easy and thrilling with the presence of the Super Falcon. It is the first air guided rocket. Fighter jets are armed with the Falcon. And when released, the pilot has the freedom to guide the direction of the rocket towards its target. The concept being used today on air-to-air missiles, surface-to-air missiles and air-to-surface missiles is based on Hughes earlier design. The age of attack helicopters has been started by his aircraft company. Military helicopters became more mobile and flexible during operational campaigns. The AH-64 Apache broke the inhibitions of the limited movements for choppers. Syncom, ATS-1, Surveyor 1, Leasat, Pioneer Venus and Galileo, all of these projects made a name in satellite and space exploration.
Many politicians have questioned Howard Hughes’s role in military projects. The truth is Hughes Aircraft knows how to fit his designs and inventions into the U.S. military programs. The United States Armed Forces is perhaps the greatest benefactor of Hughes Aircraft. The Twentieth Century is a defining age for Howard Hughes. Wars which took place at that time saw the emergence of new technology. Maybe it is his technological innovations which made a superpower out of the United States.
Howard Hughes is more of an enduring achiever than a legendary pilot and entrepreneur. Although supported by the funds of his father’s company, his passion for planes is something worth noting. Designing planes is an expensive business. During his time, numerous failures came through the processes of designing and manufacturing airplanes. A huge amount of money is being invested alone on research and aeronautical engineering. Setbacks mean loosing millions of dollars. But Hughes never succumbed to discouragement. If he did, the airline and military industry today may have lost an inspirational figure whose love for innovation and airplanes is beyond compare.
CONCLUSION
Howard Hughes’ contribution in the world of aviation has been immortal and beyond compare. He set world records in flying. He got involved in the making of the world’s first airplanes, satellites and helicopters. He is indeed an indelible mark in the history of aviation. The TWA entered a new era when he lobbied for the purchase of sixty three jets in 1956. He modernized the airline, and although he sold his stocks in 1966, TWA continued innovating and flying planes. Hughes had a brief stint with Air West in 1970 which profiled his highly publicized takeover. As an inventor, aviator and businessman, he portrayed an individual who truly loved his works under any circumstances. He bannered a work ethic that is exemplary and worthy of praise and to be paralleled upon.
Today, the innovations made by Howard Hughes have been very visible in modern technology. Weapons systems control has been a main component of the Air Force’s fighter jets. Satellites contributed so much to space and meteorological explorations. The world saw one of the most popular attack helicopters in the AH-64 Apache. Hughes had a hand in practically every company involved in aviation industry. From Lockheed to Boeing to the military, his creativity and ingenuity became a measurement of success not merely in flying planes but also in designing and building them. “With each plane that he built and each test flight he performed, Hughes worked himself closer to his goal of becoming the best pilot in the world” (http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/529/Lesson-4-Think-Big-Act-Small.html).
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