By STAN KASPRZYK

FlightLog Archive

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Aircraft Flown

Flying the Vintage Howard DGA-15 - Jul-Aug 2024

From 1939 to 1944, the Howard Aircraft Corporation produced the DGA-15, a single-engined high-winged monoplane with a wooden wing and a steel tube and truss fuselage, featuring a deeper and wider fuselage than most aircraft of the era, allowing five people to be seated in comfort. The DGA-15P was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine. In an era when airlines were flying Douglas DC-3s, the Howards cruising at 160 to 170 mph could match their speed, range and comfort with the rear seat leg room exceeding airline standards with limousine-like spaciousness, advertised well in this 1940s Howard brochure. After the US entry into World War II, the Howard was built in large numbers for the United States Navy and Army Air Forces.

My friend Jim Lambert recently acquired a 1941 DGA-15P, and I was eager to check it out, noting that it has the similar Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior R-985 450-HP engine that powers the de Havilland DHC-2 Beavers that Jim often flies and that I had flown recently. I met Jim at my neighborhood Norm Grier airfield (S36) in Kent, WA, in early July, and helped him refuel the Howard at its easily accessible fuselage side tanks, and did a thorough walk around. The Howard is a BIG single-engine bird, with classic wooden wings that were extremely smooth, and a roomy cabin with a nice wide cockpit. That big R-895 engine, however, definitely blocked most of our forward vision, necessitating S-turns on the narrow taxiway and peeks off to the side of the nose to maintain clear.

We took off in the Howard from runway 33 at Norm Grier, and Jim let me have the controls, getting a feel for power, flight control and trim settings, with better than expected vis over the nose in the climbout. We cruised by Lake Youngs and I flew a long final to runway 34 at Renton, giving Jim the bird on a mile final to demo a landing, and Jim never really flared but just flew it on for a greaser touch and go. I flew the climbout and Lake Youngs departure, reveling in the tons of climb power in the R-985. I flew some slow flight over Hobart to get a feel for the somewhat heavy aileron forces, then descended to left downwind for runway 33 at Norm Grier. We flew an angled final due to the towering trees and were rewarded with another nice touchdown on runway 33, for a very enjoyable first flight in his stately vintage bird! A nice touch after landing was using the side window crank handles, reminiscent of 1940's and 50's touring sedans, to roll down the side windows for 'air conditioning'!

Early in August, Jim Lambert contacted me about another Howard opportunity, this time flying close formation with the Skyvan Aviation Photocrew. We took off in the Howard from runway 33 into clearing skies, then cruised north over a solid undercast extending from the Olympics to the Cascades, climbed to 4500 feet, set cruise power (~28 inches manifold pressure, 1,850 rpm) and got a better feel for the Howard's flight controls, power and trim settings. I got a better appreciation for the Howard's legendary stability during the long cruise north toward the Canadian border, enjoying again the spacious cockpit. We found the Skyvan on ADS-B, and easily rejoined just south of Acme Field (WA12), in the foothills west of Mt. Baker. I had flown formation with the Skyvan team the day before in Justin Draft's Nanchang CJ-6, and flew another enjoyable Skyvan photo session, but with much more work involved than the Nanchang due to the much heavier elevator and aileron forces in the Howard, using the 'crew concept' while enlisting Jim's help with elevator trim. I sequenced again through trail and line abreast photo positions, then a position way forward underneath, followed by two breakaways. It was a great formation workout in the Howard, with smooth lead flying by the Skyvan pilot! To add a final salute to a great flight, Jim and I were passed by two low level F-15s just south of Tiger Mountain as we descended for landing on runway 15 at Norm Grier, for another awesome Howard experience!