Description given with photo: "Before Surprise Flight, Long Beach, Calif.: No longer land-locked, Howard Hughes' 200-ton flying boat, world's largest plane, rides free in Los Angeles harbor after being floated for the first time. The builder and pilot later took the controversial plane into the air for a surprise one-mile flight during taxing trials. Credit (ACME) 11-3-47."

Typed onto a piece of paper given with the image: "As Los Angeles Welcomed Howard Hughes Los Angeles, Cal. -- The crowd gathered around the world-circling plane of Howard Hughes in the hangar at the Grand Central Air Terminal as Hughes and his companions on his record-breaking world flight alighted from the plane to receive the welcome home of Southern California. Hughes put his plane down at the airport and taxied it into the hangar all before alighting with his companions. Credit Line (ACME) 8/2/38 NY."

Howard Hughes on the flight deck of the HK-1, Flying Boat (the largest plane in the world) discussing with his flight engineer and radio operator, Dave Evans, the plans for the next day's taxi testing of the 400,000 pound craft. The flight deck occupies the upper level in the nose of the 219-foot hull. The Flying Boat was assembled on Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor.