12/31/2009. This was a special convertible two-seat version of the basic Model 100 (civil version of the F4B-1series) built to the special order of Howard Hughes (hence also known as Hughes Special) and was licensed under Memo 2-83. A second cockpit without controls was installed forward of the normal cockpit in the location used for armament and fuel tanks on the P-12/F4B series, and the fuel was carried in two 25 gal (95 l) tanks in the centre section of the upper wing and in a single 40 gal (151 l) fuselage tank.

Although carrying a later designation than the standard models, the 100A was the first of the 100-series to fly, first flight and delivery taking place on July 25, 1929. Original coloring was the standard USAAC olive drab fuselage with chrome yellow wings and tail. The Model 100A had a long and almost continuous career of nearly 30 years. Hughes undertook extensive modifications after taking delivery, adding a full NACA cowl, wheel pants, and a higher vertical tail. Performance changes resulting from these modifications are unknown.

The aeroplane was later sold to Colonel Arthur Goebel for air show work as a single-seater, and passed through the hands of several successive owners. An early postwar modification was the installation of a single-strut PT-17-type undercarriage and metal-skinning of the fuselage. The last noticeable modification before destruction of the aeroplane in 1957 was the reduction in size of the vertical tail and the use of a triangular vertical fin.