Howard Hughes in the Lockheed 14 in Los Angeles, California. Typed on a piece of paper attached to the image: "Howard Hughes off on first leaf of flight to Paris. Los Angeles, Cal. -- Howard Hughes, Millionaire oil man and speed flyer, at the controls of his huge Lockheed "Flying Laboratory" as it took off from here for its leisurely flight to New York, from where Hughes and his crew will fly to Paris and perhaps around the world. 7/4/1938 Credit line (ACME)."

The black and white view of Howard Hughes being surrounded by crowds and the press in front of his Lockheed 14 aircraft.

Howard Hughes (right) and unidentified co-pilot at the gauge panel of the Hughes HK-1 Flying Boat.

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 crowds and the press at a parade for Howard Hughes celebrating the flyer's completion of his Round-The-World trip in Chicago.

A view of crowds and the press at a parade for Howard Hughes celebrating the flyer's completion of his Round-The-World trip in Chicago.