Hawaiian Howard Comes Home

Flight Journal, Dec 2004 by Jones, Geoffrey P

MISS JULIE IS A 60-YEAR-OLD CLASSIC Howard DGA-15P, named after Julie Wade, British wife of Jim Wade from Grace, Mississippi. The Wades have owned and flown a variety of aircraft, but until mid-2002, they had never done an in-depth restoration of an antique aircraft.

Their Howard DGA-15P, NC36259 (S/N 1770) was one of 250 sold by the Howard Aircraft Co. of Chicago, Illinois, to the U.S. Navy from 1941 onward. Initially known as GH-Is, they were soon converted to GH-2 Nightingales, powered by 450hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior engines and used as ambulance evacuation aircraft. The Wade's Howard began life in February 1944, and in March was shipped to Hawaii for the Navy; it was decommissioned in June 1946. In February 1947, it was converted to civilian use as a DGA-15P and spent many decades in Hawaii, where it had 18 owners, including Wally Waterhouse from 1968 to 1996. He sold the aircraft in 1996 and shipped it back to the U.S. in a B747. It ended up in Norman, Oklahoma, with Les Sargent.

The Wades weren't particularly looking for a Howard, but in 2002, they saw an advertisement in "Trade-a-Plane" for a basket-case Howard and bought it. A tornado hit Les Sargent's shop and caused extensive damage just as he had finished a thorough "annual" on the Howard-thus, the "basket case." Sargent lost heart and decided to sell.

The Wades sent the wings to Jack Swartz for restoration, and he restored the fabric covering on the fuselage as well. The engine was rebuilt and overhauled by Tulsa Engines. This intensive, 18month, full-time restoration taught the Wades an immense amount about aircraft structures, construction and maintenance. The finished aircraft flew again on January 15, 2004. At that time, it had only 1,505 hours total time.

For more info: www.wadeshoward.com.

-Geoffrey P. Jones