Howard Hughes (second from left) standing in front of the experimental helicopter XH-17, Flying Crane in October 1952. From left to right: Rea Hopper, Director of the Aeronautical Division, Hughes Aircraft Company; Howard Hughes; Clyde Jones, Director of Engineering, Hughes Tool Company Aeronautical Division; Warren Reed, Assistant; Colonel Carl E. Jackson, Air Research and Development Headquarters, Baltimore; Gale J. Moore, Pilot; and Chal Bowen, Flight Engineer/Co-pilot.
Description given with photo: "Hughes Arrives In New York: La Guardia Field, New York, N.Y. -- Howard Hughes, airplane designer, pilot and movie producer, steps down from his converted B-23 bomber at La Guardia Field following his transcontinental flight from Culver City to New York, the first since he narrowly escaped death in the crash of an experimental plane July 7. Hughes personally piloted the B-23 over the 3,000-mile route."