A Visionary Ahead of His Time: Howard Hughes and the U.S. Air Force-Part II: The Hughes D-2 and the XF-11

摘要

Shop equipment was acquired at a fast pace and the space leased by Hughes Aircraft was soon filled with equipment and men working practically elbow to elbow.4 On September 16, 1939, Clark visited Wright Field to find out as much as possible on the Air Corps current thinking with regard to interceptor type aircraft.5 Because of the press of new design work, the only technical experts available to meet with Clark were the officers and civilian engineers of the Armament and Ordnance Units. In early December, an official of Hughes Aircraft wrote the chief of the Materiel Division expressing the desire to enter into a contract with the government to provide performance report on the flight characteristics of a new pursuit type that the company was working on.7 Although the contract was only worth $50.00, its acceptance by the Air Corps would enable the company to buy military engines that would otherwise have been unavailable.