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FS2004 1950's VIP Continental Howard 500
Repaint By The Fox;s Fangar. 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 |

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