The story of an incomparable replica—and tragedy “H BY KEN SCOTT omebuilt” airplanes range from crude machines to articles combining the best of craftsmanship and aesthetics. But one of them stood alone: the incomparable H-1 Racer built by Jim Wright and a team of skilled craftsmen in a small town in western Oregon. That airplane stamped itself into the memory of everyone fortunate enough to see it as the most beautiful airplane they’d ever seen, or were likely to see, during the all-too-short period in which it flew. As a young man, Jim Wright saw a photograph he never forgot. Staring out of the black-and-white image was a young Howard Hughes, leather flying helmet in hand, standing in front of the airplane he’d just flown to set a new transcontinental speed record. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHADD SLATTERY CORBIS AOPA PILOT • 71 • JULY 2011