Howard Hughes (left, in dark coat) noted designer, builder, and industrialist entering the hull of the Hughes Flying Boat, the largest airplane in the world, as it was nearing completion on Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor. With him is Joe Petralli, assistant director of service and flight.
Transcribed from attached press release: "HUGHES READY FOR TAKE-OFF IN SECOND XF-11 FLIGHT. CULVER CITY, Calif., April 5. Howard Hughes, famed flier-industrialist, recovered from injuries following crash last July 7, is shown here just before he test-piloted today a duplicate of the plane in which he nearly lost his life. He designed and built the plane, designated XF-11, and one of the world's fastest photo-reconnaissance ships, for the Army Air Forces in conjunction with the Air Materiel Command engineers."
Howard Hughes (standing) on the set of the motion picture, "The Outlaw." The movie set resembles the interior of a stable. Three unidentified crew members work on the set.
Howard Hughes in the cockpit of his Douglas DC-3 aircraft. The photo was taken right before or after his first flight since the nearly fatal XF-11 crash in 1946.
Description given with photo: "Mr. Hughes Exits Smiling, Washington, D.C. - A different Howard Hughes from the harried, sometimes angry, man who faced the Senate War Investigating Committee last week, the millionaire plane-builder is shown waving a cheerful farewell to Washington and his admirers as he boarded his converted bomber at National Airport today for his return to California. Before taking off Hughes said he has no idea of the where-abouts of his elusive public relations man, John W. Meyer. Asked if he would be back in Washington when the committee reconvenes in November, he said: "Certainly." Photograph by N.K. Benson. 8/13/47."
Description given with photo: "Prepare to Move "Hercules" Wing, Culver City, Calif. -- One of the two 34-ton wing sections of Howard Hughes' eight-engined Hercules, world's largest flying boat, is put on house-moving dollies in Culver City, Calif., before beginning the 28-mile journey to Los Angeles Harbor, where the mammoth airplane will be assembled for its first test flight, supposedly around the first of the year. A two-day trip will see the wing- 19 feet high, 49 feet wide, 160 feet long - at the $200,000 graving dock at Terminal Island, Calif., which was built specifically for the assembly of the craft. Note comparative size of men working on the wind. Credit (ACME). 6-12-46."