Howard Hughes' Sikorsky: S-43 the legend lives on

According to rumor, it happened early in 1976. But it could have been 1975. Rumors are never exact. It was nearly midnight, and a shadowy figure shuffled through the dark hangar. As he walked, he reportedly studied the way the ramp lights reflected off the aluminum sculpture that was the Sikorsky S-43. The ever-present guards acknowledged his presence, noted his unusual appearance and stepped aside. After all, it was his airplane. And had been for nearly 40 years. Rumor has it, he climbed hesitantly up the Sikorsky's boarding stairs and disappeared down through the top fuselage hatch, Hedidn't reappear until morning. What was he doing during that time? Communing with better times past? Indeed, had he actually been there at all? Or was it a ghost? Shortly after that incident, however, he was gone forever. Of that the world was finally convinced, and headlines screamed, "Eccentric Billionaire Howard Hughes Dead."

Has any private individual lived a larger life? Possibly, but not within aviation circles. Certainly, no individual has left such a long trail of aeronautical achievements so liberally spiced with legendary behavior. So, was he there that night? Did he spend one of his final evenings revisiting pleasant aerial memories in the ancient aluminum mariner?

It's not important to know whether he was there or not. It's enough only to know that it's possible, as it would have been so typical of the once flamboyant then reclusive phantom that was Howard Hughes. Whatever Howard Hughes touched was forever changed-sometimes for the better, sometimes not; but there was no doubt he had been there, wherever "there" might have been. In some ways, he never truly left His very presence lingers, and his old Sikorsky positively reeks of it.

Hughes did virtually nothing without a purpose. That he loved aviation there was no doubt, but for him, it was definitely not recreation. For him it was a challenge to be mastered. He was born into the Golden Age of aviation challenges, and his Sikorsky S43 was originally purchased to help him meet one of those challenges-a record-setting around-the-world flight

In 1937, when Hughes paid Sikorsky to custom-build him an amphibian to circle the globe, the airplane had already started to make its mark. A lS to 25-passenger airliner, the airplane was a mini-Clipper that would allow airlines around the world to open local markets to air travel. The world in 1937 was largely divided into two spheres: one that had already been conquered by air travel and one that was about to be conquered. The Sikorsky, with its ability to use small runways and waterways, was the tool of the aeronautical businessman seeking revenue from third-world passenger trade.

The first S-43 to roll off the line in 1935 went to Inter-Island Airways of Hawaii, where it did what it did best: provided a safe, quick link from Honolulu to outlying islands. In a short time, many airlines, big and small, had bought at least one or two of the airplanes; this gave that company a toehold in developing markets and allowed it to expand into areas it had previously been unable to penetrate successfully. Pan American Airways purchased over a dozen and operated them over a wide variety of usually short routes; its Clippers flew the long legs. Its Sikorskys filled in the shorter hops.

The military bought its share-five to the Navy and seven to the Army.

Of the 53 S43s built, only two were sold to private individuals, both of whom were themselves legendary for different reasons: Howard Hughes and William Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt's airplane was equipped from the beginning as a luxurious sky yacht for entertaining and "business," as that term was loosely defined by the hyper-wealthy.

Hughes' Sikorsky, however, was different from all the rest. It was as different as the man himself was from the rest of the Sikorsky customers. In fact, his airplane, over the course of its life, went through at least three phases of use and equipment before being put into hibernation in an always-guarded hangar at Houston's Hobby Airport.

As originally designed, the S-43 was equipped with two varieties of powerplantthe Wright Cyclone R-1820 and the Pratt & Whitney "Hornet" R-1690-both single-row radials of approximately 750hp. Today, the Hornet is one of P & W's lesser known engines. A large-diameter, long-stroke engine, it was used briefly on a small number of aircraft (it was even an option on the Junkers Ju 52 before the War, and then it was never seen again). The Cyclone was more readily accepted and went through dozens of iterations to become one of the most popular engines of the "round-motor" era. Hughes opted for the high-end Wrights, continually upgrading until, at the end of the airplane's service life, the engines had grown from 900hp (the standard was 750hp) to over 1,200hp.

When the airplane was delivered to Hughes, its interior was positively spartan when compared with Vanderbilt's overly luxurious airplane. To play the role of the roundthe-world-cruiser, part of its passenger cabin had been taken over by its huge fuel-tank system that could hold more than 2,100 gallons. This modification required the elimination of several of the S-43's normal cabin windows.