1943 Howard I purchased this Howard in late 2006 after it had been involved in a landing accident..
| Condition: | Used | Model Year: | 1943 |
| Make: | Howard |
I purchased this Howard in late 2006 after it had been involved in a landing accident. The previous owner was landing on a narrow sea shell based runway with strong prevailing crosswinds. The left main gear wheel caught the embankment on the side of the runway. The pilot maintained control but before he was able to get the wheel back on the runway, the dog leg assembly failed. The failure caused the L main gear to splay outward as it detached from the tie rod strut. The damage to the Howard was kept to a minimum, as it came to rest on the embankment with the belly on the soft shell runway surface. The plane sustained damage to the belly skins, gear leg fairings, nose spinning, belly stringers and wheel pants. The engine did experience sudden stoppage but while at idle. The crank dials in with in tolerance and the three belly fuel tanks were unaffected. The prop had a slight rearward deflection in one blade. The plane then sat in my heated shop for four years before I decided to sell it due to time restraints. Over the next couple years the plane progressed. The prop was sent to Maxwell Propeller and overhauled. Although the blade was repairable the owner opted to replace with consecutive serial number blades and polish. The dog leg assembly was replaced and the plane put back on gear. The owner was replacing wood and removing the old casein glue in the original wings when the owner decided to sell for personal reasons. Knowing the plane well, I purchased it back. In the meantime I had acquired a set of completely new constructed wings with only 75 flight hours. The wings had been built by Russell Ladue and Mike Herald who are well known for craftsmanship. They had built a number of DGA-15 wings, as well as a complete DGA-6 which was on display in a museum in Chino, CA. This Howard is an excellent project due to the fact that it is complete. It has all logs dating back to the test flight at the Howard factory, all naval logs (which usually are not transferred to civilian service), dating to present. The addition of newly constructed wings which are the most time consuming, and expense in any Howard restoration. New wings at present from any reputable person cost in the neighborhood of $68,000. The wool and leather interior is complete and in nice, usable condition. The instrument panel still shows well with updated wiring. Cleveland brakes and only 228.5 SMOH from Aero-Engines (2003) and 0 SPOH by Maxwell. Included is also new fiberglass wheel pants. The plane is worth the $55,000 asking price in parts alone. If properly restored the Howard would be worth $160,000+ particularly if the economy stays strong. If you find a Howard for less, there is usually a reason why. Some may claim to have new wings but just have had the wood skins replaced. Quality of the wings construction can also play a part. Rather than purchasing a “flying Howard” at a discounted amount that will eventually need to be taken down consider saving on the purchase and building what you want. I am also able to complete the project for additional costs if potential buyer needs.
Located in Verona, Wisconsin, United States. Current date: 2018-05-28