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.
Description given with photo: "Howard Hughes Carries His Lunch Tray Cafeteria Style - Washington, D.C. Howard Hughes is shown selecting his luncheon cafeteria style during a short recess of the Senate investigation of his wartime plane contracts. Along with Thomas A. Slack, his counsel, the millionaire plane builder had his luncheon in the cafeteria of the Senate office building, while Senator Homer Ferguson, (R) Michigan the Sub-Committee Chairman, called the recess due to the absence of the witnesses summoned to the inquiry at Hughes' request. 11/8/47." Hand-written description on back of photo: "Howard Hughes & Atty. Thomas Slack have bite in Senate Office Bldg. 11/8/47."
Description given with photo: "After Non-Stop Coast to Coast Flight -- Pilot Howard Hughes (left) millionaire flier and movie producer, co-pilot Joseph Bartles, and navigator Robert Stevens, relax at the controls of their Lock-heed Constellation after landing at LaGuardia Field in new York City, Feb. 15 on Pre-Inaugural non-stop coast to coast flight from Burbank, Calif. the Constellation, named "Start of California" and carrying 34 passengers, including movie stars and a crew of seven, landed at LaGuardia Field eight hours and 38 minutes after leaving Burbank. 22/15/46."
Typed onto a piece of paper attached to the image: "As Los Angeles Welcomed Howard Hughes Home, Los Angeles, Cal. --- Governor Frank Merriam, Howard Hughes, and Mayor Frank L. Shaw (left to right) as they rode through the crowd-packed streets of Los Angeles during the reception -- one of the greatest and wildest the city had ever seen -- as Hughes and his four daring companions on his World-Flight arrived in the city. Credit Line (ACME). 8/2/38."