Howard Hughes H-1 Racer Replica

Enemy Ace · **Posted:** Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:20 pm

Hi gang,
New to the wix, have wasted the weekend thus far here.... My question is, I know Jim Wright constructed a fabulous replica of the H-1 racer. Since the tragic accident, how come no one else has stepped forward to build another? Maybe some will feel differently but I think that another H-1 would be a great way of keeping the Wright (and Hughes ) legacy going. It was widely reported that excellent drawings and plans were made during the build, and various others helped build the wings,tail, etc. The engines are basically non existent I understand but that could be worked around I imagine.
I have a hard time believing that no one else would be interested in seeing this airplane type fly again...

Kyleb · **Posted:** Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:53 pm

No doubt the original and replica Huges Racers were incredible aircraft.

The thing is, it would take an incredible amount of passion, cash, time, and skill to build a replcia from scratch. There are not too many individuals out there who have the combination of all those things, so it may be a while (maybe an eternity) before we see another...

b29flteng · **Posted:** Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:32 pm

All it takes is truck loads of money. Yes it was a beautiful bird.....

APG85 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:12 am

I agree, one of the most beautiful planes ever built. Sad and tragic what happened to the pilot and the replica. It would be great to see another...

http://www.aafo.com/racing/history/hugh ... /update-2/

Here's a link to a nice tribute page to the pilot killed in the replica crash...

http://www.wrightools.com/hughes/

kerrys · **Joined:** Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:48 am **Posts:** 16

The memorial site is great. Has some excellent videos of the H-1 replica, as well as a touching e-mail from a family that witnessed the crash.

I had the good fortune to talk to Jim Wright at Oshkosh in 2003. He was wildly enthusiastic about the H-1. He said he had more hours in his plane than Hughes did in his. He also said he had found some of the bugs that Hughes never solved (or found).

A truly sad accident.

Kerry

DB2 · **Posted:** Mon May 05, 2008 1:07 pm

IIRC the aircraft was built around the very rare P&W R-1535 (?) engine, and Wright had secured the only potentially airworthy one still in private hands to build his plane.

Truly one of the most beautiful aircraft every built; would love to see another.

TheBoy · **Posted:** Wed May 14, 2008 12:18 pm

"All it takes is truck loads of money. "

I disagree...anybody who met Mr. Wright for any time would see that the money was the smallest ingredient in the project. Jim Wright's passion for the final result as well as the intricite details along with his love of sharing aviation with people were what made this project possible. The crew of people he assembled to construct this airplane were nearly unmatched. Bringing in the most skilled members of the avaition comunity together in their respective fields and the leadership and dedication of Mr. Wright - those are the two most important ingredients and those are the two that would be nearly impossible to replicate.

After seeing, touching and smelling the H-1, I'll never look at another airplane the same again. Never before have I seen such a beautiful airplane in every respect - aestheticly pleasing to they eye, beautifuly engineered and above all flawlessly crafted.

byersgroup · **Joined:** Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:07 pm **Posts:** 3

Hi,

You will see another.

We're well into concept design phase. It's a large multi-national project.

Some of the work will be done in England. Some other places.

Thanks!

C170BDan · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:37 pm

byersgroup wrote:

Hi,

You will see another.

We're well into concept design phase. It's a large multi-national project.

Some of the work will be done in England. Some other places.

Thanks!

So any idea where the airplane will be based?

byersgroup · **Joined:** Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:07 pm **Posts:** 3

The United States.

Enemy Ace · **Posted:** Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:50 pm

Well my big question is are you guys having to start completely from scratch or is/ can any of the engineering data generated by the jim wright replica be used/ provided?

byersgroup · **Joined:** Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:07 pm **Posts:** 3

Thank you for your interest.

Mrs. Betty Wright has wished us "Good Luck," but understandably she has no personal interest in seeing another H-1 built.

Had she disapproved, I would not have felt it proper to continue.

Rocketeer · **Joined:** Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:16 pm **Posts:** 195

That would be great to see the most beautiful single engine monoplane take to the skies again... if four ki-43 Oscars and four Grumman F3Fs could be built (basically from the ground up) I bet an H-1 could be fabricated. Even better, what if two are built. However, to avoid a major headache, the reproduction H-1 should have a modern propeller that looks the part, since the original had troble with the counter weights.

Mike · **Joined:** Tue May 04, 2004 8:54 am **Posts:** 3328

I believe that there is another replica (albeit a static one) under construction by the San Diego museum, now that they have finished their P-26. Last I heard, they had already sourced an engine.

marine air · **Posted:** Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:13 pm

Maybe the hardest part would be to find an airworthy Pratt and Whitney R-1535. I think the one on the replica may have been the only airworthy example. Second the H-1 had lots of compound curves in the fuselage and very difficult to build. I looked it over closely at Oshkosh a few times and the cowling is much smaller than the anything available for a new build replica in the ballpark of 700 horsepower, like the Wright R-1300AN1, or ?

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