#Xf 11 full
Holding full left rudder and aileron to maintain control raised the spoilers on the left wing causing further loss of lift. By now he was down to 2,500 feet, too low to bail out. He cycled the throttle for the right-hand engine without effect. He tried increasing manifold pressure and increasing the propeller speed. He didn't realize that one of the counter-rotating propellers on the right-hand engine had suddenly reversed pitch due to the undetected oil leak. He loosened his seatbelt and moved about the cockpit, trying to get a better look at his stricken plane through the canopy bubble. Meanwhile, Hughes was desperately trying to figure out what was wrong.
#Xf 11 serial number
THE COMPLETE TAIL SECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT CAN BE SEEN LYING FRONT SIDE DOWN WITH ITS SERIAL NUMBER CLEARLY VISIBLE. Misinterpreting these maneuvers as preparation for a return to Culver City, Odekirk and Blandford turned the A-20 around to land ahead of the XF-11.īEVERLY HILLS FIREMEN EXTINGUISH THE WRECKAGE OF BOTH 808 N.WHITTIER DRIVE AND THE XF-11. Hughes wrestled it into a 180-degree turn, losing altitude at an alarming rate. Suddenly, he felt enormous drag on the right wing and the XF-11 turned eastward. While working the gear problem Hughes found himself several miles east of the airfield, heading north over Beverly Hills at about 5,000 feet. THE IMPACT MARKS IN THE DIRT FROM THE AIRCRAFT'S PASSING CAN ALSO BE SEEN IN THE LEFT FOREGROUND. ARROWS INDICATE SOME OF THE IDENTIFIABLE WRECKAGE (1) ONE OF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR MINUS TIRE AND WHEEL (2) ONE OF THE TWIN FUSELAGE BOOMS (3) THE RIGHT VERTICAL STABILIZER WITH THE CENTRALIZED HORIZONTAL STABILIZER AND ELEVATOR STILL ATTACHED.
THIS PHOTO, TAKEN THE NEXT DAY FROM THE ALLEY BEHIND 808 N.WHITTIER SHOWS WHAT REMAINS OF THE HOME WITH THE XF-11's WRECKAGE PILED IN THE BACKYARD. While cycling the landing gear, Hughes noticed a warning light on his control panel.
He circled Culver City at an altitude between 5,000 and 10,000 feet for about 40 minutes. "Well," replied Hughes, "I'll go alone." Blandford climbed down and, 10 minutes later, Hughes was ready for takeoff.įollowing an uneventful takeoff, Hughes began to put the XF-11 through its paces while the crew of the A-20 observed from above and behind. At one point, Blandford climbed up into the cockpit as asked Hughes if he wanted him to go along. He taxied to the end of the runway for final checks. Hughes directed his test engineer Glenn Odekirk to take Murphy and Cagney up in the A-20 chase plane during the test flight.Īt last, Hughes was seated in the cockpit with the engines running. They included actress Jean Peters, war-hero/actor Audie Murphy, and Bill Cagney (actor James Cagney's brother). In the early afternoon several guests arrived to witness the flight. Additionally Hughes, without consulting mechanic Gene Blandford, ordered 600 extra gallons of fuel to extend his flight time. Because Frank Prinz was not notified about the flight schedule, no one checked the oil levels in the propeller assemblies. On 7 July 1946 Hughes spent the morning conducting high-speed taxi tests during which he made several short hops into the air. The initial flight of the XF-11 was only scheduled to last 45 minutes.
Experience with the same type of propellers on other aircraft indicated that they could be run for an hour and a half before the oil quantity dropped to dangerous levels. During inspections the day after each taxi test technicians discovered that oil had to be added to the propellers, particularly the right-hand pair. Hughes accumulated several hours of taxi tests and rescheduled the maiden flight. One of the tires blew, however, and the test flight was scrubbed. Prinz flipped the prop-reverse switches and the XF-11 came to an abrupt halt. Distracted while concentrating on instrument readings, Hughes nearly ran the airplane into some trees at the end of the runway. Prinz, a service engineer for Hamilton-Standard, accompanied Hughes in the cockpit for a high-speed taxi test to check the propeller operation. Howard Hughes planned to perform the flight tests himself and scheduled the maiden flight for 15 April. THE RIGHT REAR SET OF COUNTER-ROTATING PROPELLERS SHOWN ON THE ENGINE IN THE FOREGROUND WILL BE THE ONES THAT FAIL IN FLIGHT AND BRING THE AIRCRAFT DOWN.Ĭonstruction of the first XF-11 was completed in the spring of 1946 at the Hughes airfield in Culver City, California. HOWARD HUGHES AT THE CONTROLS OF THE XF-11 #1, HIS LUCKY FEDORA IN PLACE AS HE READIES THE AIRCRAFT FOR ITS ILL-FATED MAIDEN FLIGHT.