Men working inside of the HK-1, Hughes Flying Boat on Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor.

Howard Hughes checking the instrument panel of the HK-1 Hughes Flying Boat (400,000 pound, 24,000 horsepower airplane) with his crew before the taxi tests, at Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor.

Howard Hughes standing by the XF-11 the day before his second test run on the plane.

An aerial photograph with a city map in the upper left corner. Transcribed description from back of the photograph: "AAF' 'Shooting Star' does mapping at 475 mph. An Army Air Forces XFP-80, the 'Shooting Star' built by Lockheed recently made a 51 minute run from Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., photographing 16,000 square miles of territory along the route for mapping purposes. The flight established a new record in photographic mapping, covering 314 square miles per minute. A new tri-metrogen K-17-B aerial camera installation, consisting of three cameras positioned and times to record the terrain from horizon to horizon was used. The test flight proved the new jet type aircraft perfect for any Air Forces mapping job. Jets, due to the lack of vibration, allow perfect exposure in minute detail without the use of intricate stabilized camera mounts."

A section of Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" or "Flying Boat" being moved (with a police escort) from the Hughes Aircraft plant in Culver City, California to Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor where the plane was assembled in June of 1946.

A section of Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" or "Flying Boat" being moved (with a police escort) from the Hughes Aircraft plant in Culver City, California to Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor where the plane was assembled in June of 1946.

A section of Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" or "Flying Boat" being moved (with a police escort) from the Hughes Aircraft plant in Culver City, California to Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor where the plane was assembled in June of 1946.