Aircraft

Howard Super Ventura

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By 1954, Howard had decided that the next step for corporate aircraft (which were mostly Twin Beeches and DC 3s at the time) was faster, farther ranging machines like his modification of the Lockheed PV 1 Ventura.
Howard introduced the Super Ventura, which led to development of the Howard 250, the 350, and culminated in the Howard 500.

In 1964 Business AirCraft Corp (successor to Howard Areo) announced sale of the first BA 400 pressurised Super Ventura. It cruised at 350 mph at 21,000 ft with a useful load of 10,100 lb. It was the only pressurised plane in production available for $550,000.

Howard Aero Inc

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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.

Howard DGA-18K

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At Howard, Gordon Israel was part of an effort to pump out a new trainer, the DGA 18K, for the Advanced Civilian Pilot Training Program; on the day the certificate for the type was presented, five production airplanes had been test flown and were ready for delivery. It had been only three weeks from the announcement of the project to the presentation of the certificate.
The Howard DGA-18K two-seat primary trainer was produced in quantity during 1940- 1942 for the U.S. Government’s Civilian Pilot Training Program.

Howard DGA-8

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Howard was planning the DGA 8 five place cabin airplane, one of the first truly classy personal transportation airplanes. By now, Israel was not only designing and building them but flight testing them as well. He says that to this day, there has never been an AD issued for his DGA 8.

Howard DGA-6 Mister Mulligan

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In 1933, Benjamin Odell Howard, a pilot for United Air Lines, decided that he wanted to get into the corporate airplane business. To do it, he chose to design and build a fast four place machine to win the Bendix Trophy cross country race. This would both bring the plane instant notoriety and give him prize money to help defray the cost of development. He enlisted the help of a promising young engineer named Gordon Israel in designing Mister Mulligan, a high wing, strut braced cabin monoplane. Benny Howard had discovered the magic of supercharging and high altitude flight. In 1935, he and Israel flew Mister Mulligan at 20,000 feet and above from Los Angeles to Cleveland and won the Bendix race at an average speed of 238.7 mph.
With DGA-6 Mister Mulligan Howard won all three major American racing titles in 1935, and this design was developed through several models into the Howard DGA-15.

Howard DGA-3 Pete

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An original 1930 race aircraft, built for the U.S. National Air Races.
Pete, a closed course racer with a compar¬atively small 318 cubic inch 90 horsepower Wright Gypsy. Gordon Israel handled the structural design of the airframe and assembled it as well. Its success can be measured by its win¬ning five firsts and two thirds at its first out¬ing, in 1930. And the two third place finishes came in the 1,000 inch and unlimited dis¬placement classes.
The DGA-3 Pete racer, was succeeded by DGA-4 Ike and DGA-5 Mike.

Engine: Curtiss Wright Gipsy, 90 hp.
Max speed: 168 mph.