Howard Hughes sits at the controls of his 400,000 pound Flying Boat just a day prior to its first tests in the Los Angeles Harbor in California. The aircraft was 219 feet long with a wing span of 320 feet.

A view of Howard Hughes talking to newspapermen about his Round-The-World flight experience in Los Angeles, California.

A view of Howard Hughes talking to newspapermen about his Round-The-World flight experience in Los Angeles, California.

A view of Howard Hughes talking to newspapermen about his Round-The-World flight experience in Los Angeles, California.

A view of Howard Hughes talking to newspapermen about his Round-The-World flight experience in Los Angeles, California.

A view of Howard Hughes talking to newspapermen about his Round-The-World flight experience in Los Angeles, California.

The hull of the $20,000,000 airplane, also known as the Flying Boat or Spruce Goose, being transferred from Culver City to Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor. The Flying Boat was moved to Terminal Island's graving dock where construction was completed in June of 1947.