Howard 500
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| Howard 500 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Executive aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Howard Aero |
| Designed by | Dee Howard and Ed Swearingen |
| Maiden flight | September 1959 |
| Number built | 17 |
The Howard 500 was an executive transport aircraft produced in the United States in the early 1960s. During the 1950s and 60s, Howard Aero had been remanufacturing military surplus Lockheed Lodestars and Lockheed Venturas for the executive market, but while the Howard 500 bore a strong resemblance to these aircraft, it was a substantially new design, and all 500s had completely new airframes. The only major components taken directly from its Lockheed forebears were the outer wing panels (from surplus Venturas) and undercarriage (from Harpoons). Howard purchased wing and fuselage jigs from Lockheed to use as patterns for jigs for the new aircraft. The fuselage differed from the Ventura's in being designed from the outset for pressurisation, and the wings were designed wet. The engine chosen was a new, higher-power and lighter-weight version of the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 that had been developed for the Douglas DC-6. Propeller hubs were taken from F4U Corsairs, propeller blades from DC-7s or Lockheed Constellations, and spinners from DC-7s.
The prototype flew in September 1959, and certification was achieved in February 1963. By this time, however, the executive market was already dominated by turboprop aircraft, and although its performance was comparable to (or even better than) these new machines, and its price substantially lower, the Howard 500 could not effectively penetrate the market.
Of the 17 examples built, one beautifully restored aircraft remains flying in 2008 (construction number 500-105, registration N500HP) with the Phillippi Equipment Company. This machine was awarded Grand Champion at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 1997.
An important historical footnote: Dee Howard is not related to Benny Howard, racing pilot and aircraft designer of the DGA series of two decades earlier.
[edit] Specifications (variant)
General characteristics
- Crew: One-two pilots
- Capacity: 14 passengers
- Length: 58 ft 6 in (17.82 m)
- Wingspan: 71 ft 4 in (21.44 m)
- Height: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
- Empty weight: 24,000 lb (10,910 kg)
- Gross weight: 34,565 lb (15,710 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB17, 2,500 hp (1,870 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 350 mph (560 km/h)
- Range: 2,570 miles (4,110 km)
[edit] References
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 511.
- N500HP homepage
- Howard 500 on Lockheed Twins Site
- The Howard 500 Project - Development of Howard 500 model for Microsoft Flight Simulator, with extensive detail, photographs, and movies of real aircraft.
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