Airways Magazine April 2024 | Page 30

SPECIAL EDITION
BILL LARKINS · SFO from TWA . He had intended to use it on a world flight but had changed his mind , bought a Lockheed 14 instead , and sold the DC-1 to a British viscount ( the aircraft ended up in the Spanish Civil War ).
Richter , who , from his stunt flying days , knew Hughes better than Frye , decided to tell his troubles to the financier . Hughes did what came naturally : he bought out Hertz ’ s stock , reinstated the Stratoliner contract , and kept acquiring TWA shares until he became the majority stockholder .
Frye first realized Hughes ’ s propensity for acting on a whim when Boeing finished building TWA ’ s Stratoliners . Hughes wanted Boeing to reduce the delivery price by removing the pressurization systems from all six airplanes , and Frye had to point out that because the systems were already installed , it would cost more to remove them .
For several years , the far-seeing Frye and the unpredictable tycoon formed a great team , although Jack had to endure occasional meddling and nit-picking from a man who thought nothing of appropriating a TWA airplane for his own use ( such as grabbing one of the six 307s and converting it into his personal airplane ) or demanding special favors for his movie celebrity friends who happened to be flying TWA . Of course , Hughes did own the airline .
Far more harmful were Hughes ’ s arrangements for financing new airplane purchases . When he ordered the Constellation , he told Lockheed , “ Send the bill to the Hughes Tool Company .” As a result , TWA not only failed to own the majority of its fleet but surrendered to Hughes almost total control over equipment decisions .
The other side of the coin , however , was the love of flying that Frye and Hughes shared so deeply , and their mutual desire to make TWA competitive with any airline in the world . They shared something else : they were both profligate visionaries , although Jack could be an impractical dreamer while Howard had a more pragmatic side . This philosophical difference held the seeds for Jack ’ s eventual destruction .
The breakup occurred after World War II , coinciding with TWA ’ s entry into international competition with its new Constellations . Two unhappy events occurring in 1946 , combined with a recession , precipitated the final clash .
30 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE APRIL 2024 www . airwaysmag . com