Backcountry Pilot

[Zzz]

My dad met a guy on the phone who is restoring a Howard DGA, and he sent him these photos. What an classic example of pure elegance! Look at those wheel fairings! (in the PDF)

I guess they were an early racer model designed by air racer Benny Howard in the 30's that did well in Cleveland.

All the photos are in this PDF that you have to download. Sorry, but I'm too lazy to screen capture all the photos out of the PDF.

Howard DGA project photos PDF


Here's a link to the foundation's web site: http://www.howardaircraft.org/

[Skylane offline]

Not sure what the latest slang is for kids nowadays. But that Howard is "Right Arm man" and real "gravy" From my day.

Older airplanes like that just have great lines. Round tails, round engines, just to get around the country.

Oh to have been around 70 years ago and be in aviation.

I have one to post too, need to resize first, and Zane I still don't have the nack for embedding them on a post, so I'll put it in an album.

See ya, Bub

OK resized and put in Golden age?

[Skystrider offline]

Wow! Nice lines! What is that finished in? Kinda looks like plywood venneer.

[Dusty offline]

WOW! looks kinda like a mix of a 195 and a beaver.

[d.grimm offline]

Is that a Pezetel(?) engine on that Howard. Looks like it turns backwards. Sure isn't a P&W.

[hardtailjohn offline]

Turns backwards??? hmmmmmm........looks like it turns the same way as all the other Pratts I have here....... if we're talking about the red one.
JH

[mtv offline]

Yep,

Pratt and Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior. Turns the RIGHT way.

The Howard wasn't built as a racer at all. It was built to fill the niche that a Cessna Citation now fills--business transport. It was a very fast airplane for its day, and very efficient.

Note the length of the wings. Benny Howard was a big time air racer, who built a lot of racers in his day. These airplanes were raced as well, and did very well.

THey were very cutting edge in their day, and pretty elegant today as well. And, no, there is no plywood in the wings, they are fabric covered, as is the fuselage. These just have pretty fantastic fabric and paint work done on them.

There are at least five of them based at Santa Paula Airport in southern California. Anybody who gets down that area on a first Sunday of the month, BE SURE to stop at that airport--they open the place as a museum on first Sundays, and you'll see these airplanes, Staggerwings, Buukers, etc by the dozen there. Hang around and drool, and a lot of these guys will take you for a ride.

MTV

[YELLOWMAULE offline]

Here's one I ran into last week in Palmer. livingstonalaska.com The most perfect (It had better be after this restoration) Stagerwing I've ever seen. the exhaust note on this 985 is very different than the Beaver. Raises the hair on the back of the neck idling next to you.
The owner has had this plane for some 40 years and been through South America and Eroupe with it. Alot of stories there.

[hardtailjohn offline]

Yep,

And, no, there is no plywood in the wings, they are fabric covered, as is the fuselage. These just have pretty fantastic fabric and paint work done on them.


MTV

Uhhhh, MTV... might think that one through again...the wings are like a Bellanca...plywood, then fabric....at least the last 2 through here were...
The last time I saw Clayton Scott, we were in negotiations to go into (very) limited production of the DGA-11 (see scanned letter in my photo gallery). He had 5 or 6 big file cabinets containing all the original drawings and was the TC holder (and had been for a while) at that time. It was a "doable" project, but it just wasn't all falling into place, and then my partner died in a car accident, and instead of tying all that up, I declined and as far as I know, he donated all that to the Howard club... he was reluctant to donate it to the Smithsonian, as he wanted people to be able to access it easier, and sincerely hoped that someone would step forward and build the airplane. Great guy, great airplanes!
JH

[mtv offline]

Oops, I was going by the fact that the outer layer is fabric on these beasts.

They are cool airplanes, nevertheless.

I'm a bit confused by your comment regards the Smithsonian. I know of several builders of various replicas who got copies of the original plans from the Smithsonian. They had to pay for copying costs, but if you're building a replica of something like this, a copying fee probably isn't significant. More info??

Scotty was quite the gent. A real loss to aviation, but what a career THAT guy had!!

MTV

[hardtailjohn offline]

I've never tried to access anything from there, but Clayton was saying there were quite a few channels to go through?? I took it that he knew what he was talking about.
Yes he was quite the guy! Last time I saw him, he was about 96, still had 20/20 vision (without glasses) and held a 2nd class medical! His office was strewn with pictures of history that was unbelieveable to most! My favorite was one he had of him flying a B29 on one engine! He said it wouldn't hold altitude, but it did sorta fly! haha
Meeting him and getting to deal with him a bit was surely one of the highlights of my life...they don't make them like that anymore!
JH

[hotrod180 offline]

A year or two ago, the EAA's Vintage Airplane magazine had a series of (old?) articles by a guy who used to be involved with Howard airplanes back in the day. They apparently took a lot of pains to produce a very high quality finish- and took alot of pride in doing so.

[d.grimm offline]

I should of said the GOLD Howard with the small cowling is something other than a P&W. I may be wrong as that happens every few minutes.

[hardtailjohn offline]

Yep, you're right...that should be a DGA-8 or 9 (depending on engine), and should have either a small Wright or Jake, if my memory serves me. The cowl doesn't look just right, even for that, but I'd assume... but I'm like you..I get to be wrong alot of the time too..just ask my kids! hehehe
The DGA-10 took basically that airframe, and hung a Pratt on it... quite the hotrod!
JH

[hotrod180 offline]

The old-timer article in Vintage Airplane mag were written by "Big Nick" Rezich back in the mid-70's. He worked at the Howard factory back in the 40's. Some pics and descriptions list various DGA models as having 225 jake, 320 Wright, or 450 Pratt.

Eric

[spacer offline]

Damn Good Airplane.

There was a fellow here in Little Rock who found a Howard 350 which had been sitting at Central for years. He got it ferriable and took it to GA for a restoration. I believe the 350 was a conversion of a Lodestar... but the 500 was built from the ground up...
I'm real sad I wasn't there to see the 350 take off... I'd passed it many times on the ramp when I was working the line.

[hardtailjohn offline]

The Howard 500 was also a conversion, just different components and more involved.
JH

[flyer offline]

I would agree that a Howard is a great taildragger. A friend of mine has one. I have flown in it and it is very fast and very maneuverable.

He has flown the Howard into the Idaho backcountry. He took it into Fish Lake, Shearer, and others including Johnson Creek, etc. He is an excellent pilot.

He has taken it into 1600 ft. dirt strips as well as landed out in the desert in the sand. I was there. I have seen it hand propped. That was quite a fete with that big radial engine. It is quite a backcountry machine.

He may have it for sale if anyone is interested.

flyer