[1] Browning hired two Lockheed engineers, Pete Law and Bruce Boland, and a team of other specialists to make major modifications to the plane, including installation of a Rolls-Royce Griffon 57 engine and contra-rotating propellers from an Avro Shackleton.

The contra-rotating propellers also created instability that required an increase in fin area, all of which cost Browning more than $300,000.

The team was hoping for 100+ degree temperatures in the Nevada desert, conditions under which they believed they could achieve 530 mph.

The cockpit was thrown end-over-end away from the fire, yet Hinton survived with a broken back, leg, and ankle.

[10][11] His survival is attributed by one of the lead engineers, Pete Law, to additional braces and a roll bar installed on the cockpit.