Sikorsky S-43 of Howard Hughes

[JDK]

Hi all,

A couple of obscure questions for the remarkable brains on display here -

I've been making the Sword model of the Sikorsky S-43 as my 'Christmas light relief' and decided to make it as Howard Hughes' machine, N440, preserved today (I believe) in Texas.

It's been very enjoyable, but I'm intreagued. I've got pics and infr from Airliners.net and seawings.co.uk but the window arrangements sem different as well as the different engines (today) than the standard S-43; I know Hughes had 1,100hp Cyclones fitted, but does it have the same type of engine now?

The skinning was flush rivited and extra fuel, and I've spotted changes to the strakes on the nose (compared to the kit which is (inevitably) of the military variants).

Questions - anyone got any reliable info on it's current config, interior layout (pictures?) location, status etc. There was an article by Bud Davidson in Flight Journal, (Jan/Feb 99)which I wonder if it has any good info?

And is Hughes the man with the most preserved of his own aircraft? There's at least the Spruce Goose, the H-1 Racer, this Sikorsky, and I think a couple of others. (anyone know them all?)Can anyone think of a person who has more of 'his/her' own aircraft preserved? And the fleets of Avengers in George Bush's colours in the 90s do NOT count!

Cheers
James

[seacue]

Another remarkable (to me) item is that the S-38 and S-39 used by Martin and Osa Johnson in Africa in the 1930s
http://www.airminded.net/sikorsky1/s38.html
http://www.airminded.net/sikorsky1/s39.html
have essentially been recreated as replicas. Some original parts were used.

IIRC, they also use one or both of these planes on an expedition to Borneo.

Elwood ("Woody") Quesada was one of their pilots in Africa. He was later first head of the US FAA.
http://www.af.mil/bios/bio_6575.shtml

[RileyDove]

JDK- Howard also owned the Short Solent at Oakland and I think the might possibly be a Lodestar of his still alive.

[PaperTiger]

According to the FAA register (http://162.58.35.241/acdatabase/NNumSQL.asp?NNumbertxt=440&cmndfind.x=13&cmndfind.y=9) the R-1820s are still fitted. The aircraft is active (at least it was very recently), based in California and was at last year's Wings Over Houston show.
Piccie: http://www.photohome.com/photos/aircraft-pictures/amphibian/sikorsky-s-43wh-2.html

[Aerohack]

James:

If you're modelling N440 as it is now, there seems to be plenty of material around. If my memory of Bud Davisson's article and photos is correct, the aeroplane now differs in many ways from the way it was originally configured for Hughes's planned world flight, but may well be representative of how it looked after he converted it for his personal use and as a development aircraft for the 'Spruce Goose'. In world flight guise (then NR-440, with a hyphen) the window configuration on the S-43-WH was very different from that of the standard airline S-43-W. Many cabin windows not present, presumably because long-range tanks were installed in the cabin.

[JDK]

Many thanks for the input chaps, knew you'd be there Aerohack! ;-)
The port windows foward of the wheel-well are missing, and that was the stewards' position on the airline machines, and a possible spot for some extra tankage. I got very thrown over potential changes of window layout, until I realised one of the pics on seawings was reversed (spotted by the wife - curses!) and the pic linked to by PaperTiger alsh had me fooled as the display boards could be covering the ports - but weren't!

Part of the joys of modelling is you end up looking a LOT harder at the subject.

Talking of which, anyone ablew to tell me what the text on the r/h and l/h side of the nose says? The bigger bits I've got let me see the larger lettering, but not the smaller. And it was meant to be a quick project! (The kits great btw if anyone's interested.)

seacue's reference to the other older Sikorskys is quite right, and they too make amazing subjects. A model mag I work for (no advert - pm me for details!) got an article from the recreation's pilot - he said it was a great waterbird, slow, and did he mention it was slow? Heh.

Any more bids on Hughes owned a/c? RD right IIRC, and I'm sure there's others. With the Spruce Goose, I guess he's a hands-down winner as to volume of preserved a/c!

Cheers
James

[PaperTiger]

I had the pleasure of seeing both the S-38 and S-39 replicas at KYIP in the National Air Tour last September. Pity about the paint jobs though :yuk:

http://www.nationalairtour.org/pilotplanespeople/index.cfm

[RileyDove]

JDK- I seem to remember he had a A-20 and B-25 stored out in the desert for many years at Lancaster (I think ) !

[Aerohack]

James: In its proposed world flight guise NR-440 had just five windows on the port side — two forward of the gear bay, one aft of the rearmost cabane strut's position, and two roughly above the end of the hull planing section.

Hughes's round-the-world Lockheed L-14 Super Electra (it wasn't a Lodestar) is long gone. It was sold to the RAF and crashed fatally on take-off from Nairobi on 10 November 1940 on the final leg of its delivery flight to Heliopolis.

[JDK]

Thanks for the link PaperTiger.
I quite like the schemes myself (they are original...) and I do like the listing that some of the other a/c on the tour "will be flown by rotating pilots". Oooo. I feel airsick already.

[RileyDove]

Aerohack - I wasn't actually thinking about the '14' - I was exploring the posibilities that the Tool Co operated a Lodestar/Howard postwar . Still it's a good excuse to pick up '
Lockheed Twins' !

[Aerohack]

James: Now that I've bothered to slide my chair about three feet from where I was sitting, I've discovered that I have photos of both sides of NR-440 as originally configured, and there were just five windows on each side, the others reportedly 'faired over', though from the pictures I don't think they were ever there. Following its crash at Lake Mead, Nevada in 1943 while being used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hughes had it salvaged and rebuilt without the LR tanks and with standard cabin windows.

Hughes/Hughes Aircraft/Hughes Tool or nominees representing Hughes owned/operated all sorts over the years — the sole Beech A17F Staggerwing, Sikorsky S-38, Boeing Stratoliner (converted by a subsequent owner into a houseboat), five Douglas B-23 Dragons, at least two A-20 Havocs, of which Hughes's personal aircraft still exists, three Short Solents, a Consolidated PB2Y Coronado, and more prosaically in later years a JetStar. I think the Learjet in which he died was a chartered aircraft.

[RileyDove]

I believe they also operated Skywarriors out of Van Nuys for research duties - subsequently these were taken up by other corporations.

The aircraft at Lancaster were :

Douglas A-20G N34920
NA Mitchell B-25D N3968C

also found to be operated by them was Douglas A-26 Invader
N6839D. At least one of his Dragon's is still alive.

[JDK]

Thanks again chaps. Aerohack - any chance of copies of that info? As you'll guess a write up for MMP is planed!

Was the Lockheed seen at Coventry airshow in 2000 a Hughes exec conversion, or an actual 'as used by Hughes' a/c?

[RileyDove]

JDK- it's a Howard 500 conversion of a Lockheed Ventura. They were converted by Howard Aero Inc in the early sixties. There is no direct connection with Hughes.

[JDK]

Er quite...
Brain overload. Must go and write for the Sun.
Cheers!

[Aerohack]

James:

I'll photocopy and mail you the stuff I have on the Hughes S-43.

As RileyDove says, the 'Howard' in Howard 500 is Dee Howard, no connection with Hughes. Along with Bill Lear and Ed Swearingen, Dee Howard developed executive conversions of Lodestars and — in Howard's case — Venturas and one or two Harpoons. The pressurised, 350 mph Howard 500 like Duncan Baker's UK-based example was perhaps the pinnacle of piston-powered business transports, eclipsed by the arrival of the turboprop Gulfstream I. Some sources claim that the 500 was an entirely new-build aircraft with no Ventura components, and Dee Howard personally told me that this was so, but others dispute this.

[Conc]

I believe that Northern Air Cargo in Alaska are still operating Howard Hughes DC-6 albeit now as a freighter.

[JDK]

Many thanks Aerohack,
I'm waiting at the letterbox as I write. Well, nearly!
Conc - any idea of the serial?

The Hughes a/c I'dve loved to have seen survive was the twin boom photo recon job. Classy.

Cheers
James

[Conc]

JDK

The former Howard Hughes DC-6 with Northern Air Cargo is serial number:

45372 and registered N7780B

The reconnaisance aircraft you are talking about is the Hughes XF-11. Hughes crashed and nearly died in the first prototype but at least one other was built.

I am looking foward to the new movie about Howard Hughes even though it stars Leonardo di Caprio and the Hughes H-1 replica will sadly now not be available after the tragic crash which killed the owner. Recently saw a TV serial about Hughes starring tommy Lee Jones which was excellent and feature a host of rare aircraft.

[Iron City]

The Skywarriors (A-3s) are a little confusing to me...they are military aircraft but it appears that at least one has civil registration markings. Believe they were bailed by the Navy to Hughes electronics for system engineering and test flying weapon systems like the AN/AWG-9.

In any case, they have nothing personally to do with Mr. Hughes himself.

[RileyDove]

Iron City - The Skywarriors have been civil operated for trials
work with a variety of U.S Government contractors. Amongst these were Hughes who started operating the type in the early 1960's. When the Navy retired their last surviving machines in 1991 they were distributed to a quartet of companies including Hughes. Subsequent to this Raytheon has acquired all the remaining machines (fourteen on the U.S civil register) although it's thought that they are not all still airworthy
Clearly Howard Hughes was in control of the company during the 1960's at least so he does have a direct connection with the type.

[JDK]

Thanks for all the input chaps.

Just to recap, the questios were

1. Anyone got info on the S-43? (Nicely answered, but more and piccies appreciated)

2. Is Hughes the Aviation Celeb with the most preserved a/c? (perhaps I should have added 'as new a/c')

For instance Frank Talman and Paul Mantz probably have a direct involvement with a huge number of surviving airframes - but they weren't new, and aren't famous primarilly because of Mantz and Tallman's involvement. - I hope you get my drift!

So Bid one - Hughes - Item, Spruce Goose, item Hughes racer, item S-43, item Solent, item Strat cabin, etc.

Any other bids?

(I HOPE this is a bit of 'armless fun, but you never know...)

Cheers
James

[pigboat]

Air Classics Magazine did a lengthy article on the Hughes S-43 some time ago, with lots of pictures.
http://www.challengeweb.com/magazines.html is their website.
You could contact Ed Schnepf or John Cappello for a back issue.