The Hughes H-1 was built by Hughes Aircraft in 1935. Glenn Odekirk, an aircraft designer under the employ of Howard Hughes, put a small model version of the aircraft in a wind tunnel in 1934 revealing a speed potential of 365 mph. The full sized version was built shortly after. It included many groundbreaking technologies. Machined flush rivets and retractable landing gear in particular would help keep the aircraft "clean". The H-1 was equiped with a Pratt & Whitney R-1535 engine that was tuned to put out over 1000 horsepower. In 1935 Hughes broke the landplane speed record by clocking 352 mph. Unfortunately, he ran out of gas on the attempt and had to crash into a beet field. In 1937 the H-1 was fitted with longer wings and broke the transcontinental speed record. The original Hughes H-1 Racer now sits in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
