The son of Edward John and Louise (Lewis) Odekirk, Glenn, also known by his nickname 'Ode' (pronounced "OH-dee"), was an
engineer who graduated from
Oregon State University in 1927. During the 1930s and through
World War II, Odekirk was the assistant to the businessman
Howard Hughes, the president of
Hughes Aircraft, with whom he had a very close professional relationship. Odekirk met Hughes on the set of his movie ''
Hell's Angels'', and Hughes was very impressed with him. For several years, the two flew around the country together, testing the young engineer's ideas and arguing constantly over the most trivial matters of
airplane construction. In 1935, Odekirk co-designed the
Hughes H-1 Racer. It set a world speed record of 352.39 miles per hour in September of that year, beating
Raymond Delmotte's (of France) record of 314.32 miles per hour. The plane was revolutionary for its time and was one of the first planes in history to sport
retractable landing gear,
countersunk screws and
flush rivets to reduce wind resistance. Odekirk co-designed the
H-4 Hercules (commonly known as the
Spruce Goose) and many sources state that Odekirk was aboard when Hughes piloted the plane on its only flight on November 2, 1947. However, according to
The Ouderkerk Family Saga: 350 Years in America, Glenn Odekirk was not on the Hercules. Odekirk recalled that day: "I dropped Hughes down on the dock and he said to me, 'Odie, you don't mind not being aboard while I taxi' "...and I said, "Oh, come on." "The fellows back there (the Brewster committee) were giving him a bad time and told him the thing would never fly. So that is when I knew real well that he would take off if possible. I know darn well if it feels right, you are going to fly it. Mr. Hughes didn't want another pilot on board because someday someone would come out and say that Howard Hughes didn't fly it, so-and-so did." ==Legacy==