Much the same way that Hughes opted to take the reins with his films, he did the same with his aviation projects. Hughes studied engineering at both the California Institute of Technology and Rice Institute of Technology, per Britannica. His passion for aviation went beyond building and designing planes; Hughes also liked flying his creations.
Hughes was in the cockpit of an airplane that he designed when he set the landplane speed record, and a few years later, using the same plane, he made a transcontinental flight that had an average speed of 332 miles per hour. Hughes and his company were responsible for several major innovations in aviation, according to Biography, including the first retractable landing gear. The Hughes Aircraft Company had military contracts, but like many of his films, the planes weren’t ready in time and came in way over budget.
On July 7, 1947, Hughes was once again in the cockpit of a new aircraft, the Hughes XF-11. According to the Los Angeles Times, on its maiden test flight and with Hughes at the controls, the XF-11 appeared to suffer a problem. Hughes attempted a crash landing on the Los Angeles Country Club’s golf course. He came up short of his intended landing spot and crashed into several Beverly Hills houses.
