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AIRVENTURE TODAY
TOP STORY
CHARIOT OF THE STARS Howard DGA
STORY AND PHOTOS BY FREDERICK A. JOHNSEN
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
BEN HOWARD USED the nomenclature DGA for his
airplane designs for years. By the time the executive Howard DGA-15 hit the market in 1939, it was widely accepted the letters stood for “damn good airplane.” Evidently airplane manufacturers did not survive the Depression by being timid about their products. About a dozen Howard DGAs, including a smaller speedster and a former ambulance, grace the grass in the Vintage area at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2021. They flew in from states as diverse as Arkansas, Ohio, Washington, Georgia, Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Nevada, and Tennessee. Roger Brown, president of the Howard Aircraft Foundation, and his wife, Terese, flew their striking black DGA-15 to AirVenture from Port St. Lucie, Florida. Since Howards were the chariots of the powerful in an era when people were not called influencers, it is no surprise that the Browns’ DGA-15 once belonged to cigarchomping Air Force tactician Gen. Curtis LeMay. Another DGA devotee back in the day was actor Wallace Beery, who liked to fly his plane to the hinterlands for hunting, Brown said. As a result of Beery’s requirement to pack gear in and out, the company devised a larger double door on the right side of the fuselage of his airplane. The U.S. Navy appreciated the value of this modification as the GH-2 aerial ambulance. A bonus in the AirVenture Howard lineup is a rare DGA-8, smaller than the plush DGA-15 and descended from the famed Howard DGA-6 Mister Mulligan racer. Jack and Joan Venaleck brought the sporty airplane from Ohio. The line of Howards at AirVenture this year is as colorful, and ethereal, as a rainbow. Some may be departing before week’s end. Catch them if you can.
Roger and Terese Brown brought their historic Howard DGA-15 to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2021. Gen. Curtis LeMay once owned this airplane.
The only flying Howard DGA-8, derived from the Mister Mulligan racer design, attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2021.
Tall fins make a statement in the Vintage parking area where Howard DGA classics convene.
