I created the CGI version of this and the Hercules (Spruce Goose) in the Scorsese film The Aviator. I studied a lot of the photos and we modeled everything down to the 3D nuts and bolts, which was difficult at the time. Almost all of the software was custom coded back then. Scorsese had the Smithsonian send us archival film footage which we screened in the screening rooms at Columbia Pictures. The Smithsonian sent the wrong footage at first - a bunch of footage of monkeys began playing :) We were like..huh??

Can't understand how someone with the slightest interest in aviation could give the go-ahead on scrapping such a machine, truly a shame.

I knew about the crash but had no idea that the prop hub leak was a known issue with a strict flight time limit. Movies have portrayed it as just an unlucky test flight, but turns out he was shockingly reckless that day and paid the price.

At the time aluminum was a strategic metal. Experimental aircraft were not considered worth saving. In the late 1940s, the air force had many thousands of WWII aircraft in storage. In 1949 you could purchase a P-51D for $500 Dollars, and with an oil change and a check ride you could fly it home. What was interesting is the vast majority of combat pilots never set foot in a plane again. It wasn’t called PTSD at the time but these pilots suffered from it.

My old-and-now deceased friend, Richard E. Saunders, was an engineer for Hughes on the F-11 project. What an amazing aircraft. Imagine this aircraft with big turboprops. Glad you focused attention on this aircraft. Well done with all the important details.

If anyone is interested, cement and aluminum have the same density. Not that you could make cement thin enough to use on an aircraft, but wood does save weight. When I was designing a light weight hatch cover, I thought of aluminum, but discovered it wouldn't have the rigidity of wood, while being about twice the weight, and I didn't have the equipment to put a compound curve in the aluminum. I replaced a 13 lb fiberglass hatch cover with a 3.5 lb wooden one. No one noticed it wasn't the factory one.

Interestingly, while Hughes was recovering in the hospital he and his engineering staff designed an improved hospital bed.

Some Hughes airplane trivia; A while back I watched a "myth busters" type program where a guy had an altimeter that his fireman father had said he "picked up" from the Hollywood XF-11 crash site. The show producers found out that the Spruce Goose and the XF-11 were built side by side. The current SG owners (Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum) allowed them to compare altimeters and found they were the same make and model altimeter with sequential serial numbers. The Spruce Goose also used 4630 engines, with 448 spark plugs total in 8 engines.

Actually, listening and looking at this thing believe that it is more like the P-61 than the P-38. Huge engines, full span (or nearly so in the XF), slats for roll control....if I was Jack Northrop I would be asking for dates on those drawings!

Years ago I read a book titled ‘I Caught Flies For Howard Hughes’ - written by a guy hired to watch / guard one of Hughe’s planes. Howard eventually hired the fellow to do bizarre jobs, hence the title of the book. It’s an interesting daily chronicle of the period just before Hughes became a reclusive compulsive.

Imagine flying this beast. With such a large air foil service, light design, and monstrous power, it probably took off like a rocket, and took flight almost immediately.

Odds are the provision for extra fuel was to feed Hughes’ desire to set an around the world speed record. The D-2 began as a project to do just that, but when war broke out Hughes went looking for a market for it.

P61 is still my favorite twin boom design. Simultaneously ahead of its time, but too late to the war, but despite its low numbers was used well by its crews.

Basically every aspect and detail concerning the x-f11 is incredible. Given the chance, this beast would have been iconic.

"Plan the flight, fly the plan." -Every test pilot except Howard Hughes

I had been told that the right prop went into reverse and Hughes was applying full power to get some thrust when he was really making the problem worse. It concluded that had the engine been cut the plane could have been flown safely on the other engine alone. BTW I worked for Hughes in the 1980's and got a thrill out of the photos of the Culver City plant and runway. It's all gone now except for the big hanger which is used for a film stage.

I share your love of the P-38. How could you not love an aircraft that went from napkins to flying in a year with cutting-edge technologies?! The Lightning was awesome as shown by the top 3 World War II pilots' accomplishments.

Howard was real man and went above and beyond the call. It’s a real shame that the remaining aircraft was scrapped.

I have always been fascinated by 4360 powered aircraft, and this might have been the coolest of all of them. Great video!

The turbos were required because of the operational altitude. They had little to nothing to do with boosting normal power.

The problem Howard Hughes was confronted with is that " Preferred " Aviation companies ( Boeing , Douglas , etc ) were claiming most All available Aluminum resources for plane construction..

I do like the twin design as well. Timing is everything(well…almost). If he’d finished it a year earlier, things might have turned out different.

The XF-11 was a beautiful plane. "The Aviator" film made it look downright stunning.

Like his other builds, Hughes was ahead of technology, but experienced many delays to incorporate new technologies. The needle-like fuselage is similar to the U2, perhaps some of his 1940’s designs carried over into the jet age.

I worked with the Nephew of Howard Heughs' and learned a lot about machining engine surfaces and transmissions growing up in Bellevue WA. I had never seen so much huge types of equipment in my life, all purchased by himself as he never received a dime from Howard!... GC Heughs Was highly intelligent and I respected him in every way, his thoughts about machining really opened my eyes in life!... My father was a tool and die maker, but Gary was a genius definitely! I'm so thankful to have learned in life!!!

Love your presentation that makes it fun! ... but you haven't forgot the technical and historical details that provide context. Excellent overall balance between information and entertainment. Subscribed!

It's a shame the prototype was never kept for a museum piece. Of course back then no one thought about that. Great vid by the way.

Scrapping such a plane is heartbreaking.

A good story but things at this time were moving very fast and this concept was well out of date by 1945, and by 1949 the British had the English Electric Canberra jet bomber and photo Reconnaissance aircraft which could fly so high no jet interceptor could catch it. In fact it was so good the Americans bought it.

The Hughes XF-11 arrived far too late to achieve anything and was heartily disliked by the brass and anybody concerned with aviation and has much to do with Hughes abrasive attitude. Curiously he was despairing to fly this prototype as soon as possible because of the mounting pressure from the Congress so he needed the funds for both the XF-11 and the Hughes H-4 Hercules. Fact is that he threw away all the regulations in the bin and did everything to ask for trouble. Furthermore he was already forewarned about the leaking Hamilton Standard Hydromatic contra-rotating propellers system. Apparently instead of concentrating on feathering the propellers he kept on lowering and rising the wheels (he was convinced that one leg was being down) by emptying the hydraulic system, flying away from Hughes Airport. Despite his accident he sue Hamilton Standard company but I don't remember what really happened. Fact is that his accident was highly controversial especially under Trueman's Committee. For me Hughes already had problems with his head before the accident because of his erratic behaviour but it is just my opinion. You did a good job 👍 👍👍👍 and looking forward to your new videos....

"After the accident Hughes would suffer major injuries including severe burns, 11 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a displaced heart." Wow. You'd think he'd get hurt in the accident. What did the neighborhood residents beat the crap out of him afterwards?

Props to an apex prop! Personally my favorite prop is the Dornier Do 335, another heavy twin but with a *(cough)* slightly different engine configuration...

Howard Hughes was incredibly wealthy, so he was considered "eccentric". Anyone else equally eccentric, but without the wealth, would be a resident of the "funny farm". Incidentally, I note that North American Aviation designed and built the first P-51 for the British RAF in just 102 days. Hughes constantly obsessed over his XF-11 while years went by.

Given the actual timeline, even if they had been ordered, no production models would have found their way to any forward air bases until well after 1950...the jet age. Unique aircraft, only available after it was basically obsolete.

Howard Hughes was a great American! At the completion of Hell's Angels, Hughes had the largest private aircraft fleet in the world, and the single largest film archive of experienced combat fighters dogfighting.

Excellent video - I knew Hughes built and flew the XF11, almost dying in the crash, but I never knew he rebuilt it and flew it again. He was a one of a kind visionary, and never did things by halves - which may have led to the initial crash, but also led him to being the leader he was in many fields.

Now I understand why Howard eventually lost his grip. But still a incredible caricature.

an uncle of mine was in the AAF and flew the "Forked Tail Devil"(the Lockheed P38 fighter that looks quite like the XF-11!) as they called it back then...

This was an excellent video, filled with tons of facts and information about Hugh’s! Thank you for your hard work!

Hughes was a genius. He not only thought outside the box, but lived there as well.

Nicely done. We especially like your efforts to research the topic so thoroughly, you ran into "dead-ends". That tells us you will leave no page of relevant history unexamined. We are already subscribed, but thumbed up this one, too.

I've always loved the twin boom designs, especially the P38 and P61

Your style is so welcoming. Thanks for yet another amazing video!

This is awesome. Videos like this are quickly turning me into an aviation enthusiast! Thank you for sharing your passion!

I can’t wait for this channel to blow up

0:04 I really like the P-38, probably due to it being my favorite plane in Air Attack 2 lol

This is your moment bro, the algorithm has chosen. Awesome channel, subbed!

also bonus fact: the luftwaffe had already shown that jets could be used for all roles in military aviation wich ment that the xf-11 would have been overtaken by a jet not far after a potential adoption.

Given how long it took to get one in the air, this became, a real case of reinventing the wheel. Spitfires were roaming above Europe at greater heights then are quoted for this aircraft in 1940/41, also the US were using the Mosquitos long before this first flew, and I would have thought, with the first Flight of the Whittle Gloster jet the whole premise on which this aircraft was based disappeared. I always admired Hugh's and his Spruce Goose but sadly it would seem he was more obsessive loon than great thinker. That wing looks like it could have had a future though, an interesting video which I think shows more power is not always the way to better performance. In the UK Westland went down the same dead end with the Whirlwind and then the Welkin, the first a heavy fighter which like the Me 110 was out classed by the Spitfire and the Me 109, then the Welkin which was meant to be very high-altitude fighter photo reconnaissance but which turned out to be un needed as the Mosquito already fulfilled those roles very well. As a post script it is worth know that the designer of the Whirlwind and Welking a gentleman called Mr W E W Petter moved to English Electric and produced the Canberra which first flew on the 13 May 1949, the Canberra replaced the Mosquito and like the Mosquito it was also unarmed and simply flew higher and faster than its opponents up around 50,000 feet.

I remember my mom pointing to the lightning as it flew over lake Dubay before CWA was CWA . I was fascinated by it and would always watch going to see it again. Only saw it twice as a kid , circa 1966 .

I would have loved to see this as a high speed interceptor in an alternate history

Military aircraft designers were probably obsessed with range in the postwar era because no one assumed the US was going to indefinitely maintain a thousand military bases all over the planet.

Only two were built. The first had the counter rotating props, the second had standard props. The first prototype, piloted by Hughes, crashed on 7 July 1946 while on its maiden flight. Hughes did not follow the agreed testing program and communications protocol, and remained airborne almost twice as long as planned. An hour into the flight (after on-board recording cameras had run out of film), a leak caused the right-hand propeller controls to lose their effectiveness and the rear propeller subsequently reversed its pitch, disrupting that engine's thrust, which caused the aircraft to yaw hard to the right. Mr. Hughes maintained full power of right engine and reduced that of left engine instead of trying to fly with right propeller windmilling without power. Hughes was blamed for the crash. Hughes also piloted the second prototype which flew without incident, in 1947. The Air Force assessed that the plane lacked suitable control at slow speeds and was too hard to maintain so did not proceed with an order.

Took a scroll through your channel I'm a little surprised not to see something on the North American F-82 Twin Mustang. I bet you'll love that plane =D

I worked at the Hughes plant in Culver City, along with some older engineers who had worked on the XF-11. The Duramold process using resin, heat and pressure was fore runner of today's carbon fiber composites. Only difference was Duramold used organic carbon (plywood).

You should review the Republic XF-12. Similar intended role. Though its story lacks an intriguing central character like Howard Hughes, the project also was not crucially derailed by unchecked personal hubris. The XF-12 was perhaps the zenith of high-speed piston engined aircraft technology. Nevertheless, the USAAF/USAF had a surplus of B-29s that were cheaper, reasonably fast, and would not require new production facilities, service assets, or crew training.

That plane did not nearly kill Howard Hughes. Howard Hughes nearly killed Howard Hughes by taking shortcuts.

Just stumbled across this channel. Great video! I always wondered about this plane from the movie. It's a beautiful aircraft. The XF-11 was one of the planes Congress questioned Hughes about, claiming misuse of funding. The other was the Spruce Goose. I enjoyed your historically correct accounting of this aircraft. Thanks.

My Mom's cousin was one of Howard Hughes test Pilots and flew with him , He also flew him many times on trips. His sister ( Annabelle) told me she believed he was with Hughes when he flew the Spruce Goose.

There wasn't much choice in making money in WW2: It's Uncle Sam, and pretty much no commercial market.

The 2860's were NOTORIOUSLY unreliable when they were first designed because of the nightmare of overheating. It took Chrysler (P&W couldn't fix it, so they called in REAL engineers) quite a while to get it to run without overheating. The B-29's ALWAYS had to fly with the engine cooling flaps OPEN to keep them from overheating - and it actually slowed the plane by 10-20 knots. Adding the turbos would have just exacerbated an already well-known overheating problem on Hughes' planes. Impressive numbers, but as an aircraft mechanic myself - those engines would have been a NIGHTMARE!

One thing to remember about the P38. It wasn't designed for dog fighting, it was designed for long range escort with the ability to "mix it up" if need be. Correction, not escort but interception of enemy bombers. Later on, it did really well in the ground support role.

I am from Uruguay, 83, no pilot nor aeronautics specialist, but I think the XF-11 profile looks pretty much advanced for her time -never mind the piston engines...

An overpowered, high speed, reconnaissance plane... I guess that makes it an ancestor to the SR-71.

Plenty of aristocrats have built custom aircraft for personal use, perhaps someone could make a replica using modern technology one day?

She really was such a gorgeous aircraft. Visually flawless and despite it crashing ( i haven't heard the results of the investigation ) I still absurdly wish it had continued and that some examples would still exist at airshpws.

Thanks for making and posting this video! I've always been more curious of this than the SPRUCE GOOSE.

Hughes was entirely the author of his own misfortune in the crash of the first prototype. The motor and set-up should have been tested separately on something like a B-17. and he should have flown the planned tests, not made up his own spur-of-the-moment jolly. New aircraft, especially if there's more than one novelty invplved. means the tests should anticipate problems and have contingency plans.

I wonder how accurately they could estimate minimum controllable speed on paper in those days?

I was stationed at Sheppard AFB in 1972 for tech training.

FYI - The US Army Air Corp never partook in WWII. It was officially redesignated the US Army Air Force in late May/early June 1941, six months before the Japanese attacked Pearl harbor.

The model made for the movie was huge. I read about it and the makers went on about how great it flew. The plane flying off Catalina for the movie was just amazing it looked like the real plane. I bet it would have been a great investment for the air force.

I've always been a fan of Hughes-based stories; he's the Area 51-like legend-maker of his time - including politically and, given his H'wood ties, socially. Some of his news making and aircraft were in part responsible for my joining the Air Force. Later in life, I was fortunate enough to be involved in trying to help promote the Spruce Goose display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, it almost seeming like a religious evangelism effort. I deeply appreciate the many details you have uncovered, here, and was particularly fascinated with the engine work, as that was my career field in the Air Force. I had even been offered a job as Jet Engine designer for Pratt and Whitney, so that detail sat well with me. Sigh. Often regretted leaving the Force, and not accepting that offer, when I did. But one thing I did do, perhaps unknowingly influenced by H.H., was to cross train through all aircraft maintenance fields. After seeing this, I now realize that potential connection.

I once worked with a Corsair ace of WW2 during the 80's, I asked him what was it like dogfighting with a P-38, he said it was like dogfighting with a bomber, so take that for what it's worth.

Never realized how insane that bird was. Thanks man!

Those pilots that really learned the P-38 could out turn a P-51. This was by advanced engine management. You slow one engine and reved up the other engine and turn into the slowed engine. Also, they would use the “clover leaf “ maneuver.

What happened to the residents of the homes he crashed into was anyone hurt or killed? Did he reimburse homeowners for damages he caused?

The XF-11 probably would have been a much better plane if only Howard Hughes had the foresite to use turoprop engines instead of conventional piston engines. Its overall performance would have been so much better. I do have to say Howard Hughes borrowed much of the XF-11's cues from the Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter rather than the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. I talked with a Mr. Erb who worked for Northrop Aviation as lead engineer for the P-61 Black Widow program when I met him at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio back in 1976. He told me how he designed the spoiler flaps that would come out of the wings and were half moon shaped on purpose to make the plane remarketly maneuverable for it size. Mr. Erb really impressed Jack Northrop with what he came up with and the spoiler flaps were soon incorporated into the wings design. He also designed the throttle quadrant that was ergonomically designed to ease pilot workload. The P-61 also had conventional ailerons, but these were used to provide the pilot with feedback on the controls during takeoff and landings only. When flight testing at Murroc Dry Lake in 1944, Mr. Erb said the plane was tested by Northrop chief test pilot Harry Crosby. When Lockheed showed up with their P-38L Lightning the same day with Lockheed chief test pilot Milo Burcham at the controls, Milo took one look at the P-61 Black Widow prototype and made the mistake of telling Harry Crosby that his Lightning could fly circles around Crosby's Black Widow. Crosby fired back saying lets go upstairs and find out and Milo agreed. The two were flying at 20,000 feet in their respective aircraft and starting dogfighting each other. Milo made several attempts to get on the P-61s tail, but Crosby quickly countered by turning inside of the P-38's turn circle, getting on the P-38's tail. This dogfight went on for a whole hour until Milo was convinced Crosby was up there trying to kill him because every attempt Milo made in the P-38 against the Black Widow, Crosby countered to the point where Milo could not achieve any advantage whatsoever over Crosby in the Black Widow. When both planes landed at Murroc Dry Lake, Crosby said to Mr. Erb, "I just proved to Lockheed that their P-38 Lightning is completely obsolete."

The phrasing "For an aircraft that bridged the gap between heavy fighter and attack aircraft" really puts it into perspective. it helped.

I’ve heard that a couple of the guys (Howard included) that designed the XF-11 worked on the YF-12 and then the SR-71…I think ole Howard was proud of them even if it wasn’t his company and would have loved to fly them…he was just a barn stormer at heart

Why would a P-38 pilot want to "mix it up" with a Spitfire? They were both Allied aircraft. The P-38 was more feared by many enemy pilots than the P-51 in both the European and Pacific theaters throughout the war, and this reputation was never lost at any time during the conflict.

@10:30 Hughes did not pull himself from the wreckage! He was rescued by Marine Sgt William Durkin. Hughes was in FAR too bad a shape to pull him out-- he just barely survived.

Northrop Aircraft, located down the street from Hughes, produced the Black Widow night fighter, a 3-man version of this plane. It's a larger airframe than the XF-11 but it shares much of the same advancements learned from the P-38, which was designed before the war broke out. By the time the Black Widow made it to the combat areas it was so late in the war it made very little impact on the outcome.

Thank you for the great video. Too bad more of Hughes Aircraft didn't make it to production for the war effort. It would have made an awesome radar night fighter.

HH was very determined. With an outstanding range, and its high-speed, the XF-11 it would have been a game-changer during the early days of WW2.

You show up at ANY GA hub in this plane and you would have EVERYONE'S attention! I flew left seat into an airfield in central California in a B-25 for lunch which was a very active field. We were one of one that day. Quite an experience.

A favorite subject. Thanks for another fabulous vid.

This plane was truly iconic!!!

I just wonder, what would the Lightening's performance be like if it had a contra propeller system?

His use of composite materials which were rejected by the government were way ahead of its time. Now it is commonly used with different materials but the same philosophy.

Nice! Had not known about this. Howie nearly bought the farm more than once. Give him credit for not being chicken like most politicians.

My favorite was never given a chance but the Dornier 335 steel arrow was awesome.

This looks like a possible inspiration or predecessor of the outlier spy plane the (U-2), and looks like it can fly at high altitudes.

EGG-lin, not EEG-lin AFB in Florida.

In 1992 there was 2 of those A/C at the Hughes hanger . In Tucson, Az. They were stacked on top of each other like junk automobiles .

Just found your channel! Always interested in Hughes stories! Great narration and research! The XF-11 had some sweet lines but just couldn’t compete in terms of practicality!

Turbochargers sound cool but as far as I’m aware on most planes they are there only to give sea level performance at higher altitude not boost power as in a car - the R-4360 had a supercharger that did this built into the engine.

XF-11 was a hottie!

A friend of mine, in the late 70s, worked at the large Hughes Aircraft facility in LA, near the airport. Hughes had his own airline then. The employees called the company "Huge Aircrash", in honor of his flight over, and into, Beverly Hills.

The P-38 Lightning is my favorite WWII aircraft. Yes, the P-51 was better but there's just something special about the Lightning. The 20mm cannon and the .50 cals really were something. The U.S. pilot with the most kills flew the P-38. ✌