In 1947, Howard formed Howard Aero to provide maintenance and service for business aircraft. One of his customers, a wealthy Mex¬ican businessman, requested that he develop an aircraft suitable for executive transport between Mexico City and New York. The result, in 1955, was a slick and speedy conversion of the Lockheed PV 1 Ventura that would cruise at 261 knots with its pair of 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R 2800s. Several large corporations, including Na¬tional Distillers, purchased the aircraft, and it won fame as the Flagship of the Fleet at the Reading Air Show in the late 1950s. But the Super Ventura, as Howard’s conversion was known, was neither pressurized nor new.
In 1963 Howard combined with Alamo Aero Service, specializing in the conversion of ex-military Lockheed PV-1 Venturas and civilian Lockheed Lodestars to high-speed executive transports known as Howard 250s, 350s and 500s, according to configuration and powerplant. A three-engined version of the Beech Travel Air twin was also flown experimentally.
Howard Aero was succeeded by Business AirCraft Corp by 1964.
All Aero 