Mark Jones, CFII, is available as a flight instructor, with a Cessna 172, to provide the following:
Mark may be contacted at (208)631-9719
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GRANGEVILLE — A memory of executive airline luxury blown past by the jet age made a brief stopover at the Idaho County Airport last week.
A Howard 500 touched down in Grangeville last Thursday, Jan. 20, bringing the owners of TP Universal Exports of Eagan, Minn., to visit with Ray Anderson of Anderson Aeromotive. According to pilot Hans Meyer, Anderson’s company completed an overhaul of the Howard’s twin 2,500-horsepower radial engines a few years ago, and TP executives wanted to meet Ray and tour the facility.
How rare is this aircraft?
“This is the only airworthy flying example in North America,” explained Meyer. He was one of two pilots on this trip, which started early that morning from Anoka County Airport north of Minneapolis-St.Paul, and was destined for Colorado later that day.
This Howard 500 (serial no. 005) was built in 1960 and is one of 17 total produced by the Dee Howard Company, built for a select who’s who of industry and entertainment representatives of the day. This plane was owned by several companies — and, it is believed, by Elvis Presley — before being purchased by TP Universal.
“It was the premier executive aircraft of its day,” Meyer said, comparable to contemporary aircraft such as the Beechcraft King Air and Learjet.
However, it came late in aviation which was already being overtaken by the jet age.
The Howard 500 has a cruising speed of 325 mph with a range of 2,200 miles, and a 12-passenger cabin. Ash trays in each chair arm remind of an earlier era in a cabin updated to the modern with satellite radio and a flatscreen TV.
With their Thursday tour complete, TP owners returned to the aircraft, along with Anderson and several of his employees to see the plane and — waiting on the snowy runway in a 14-degree wind-chill — watch the takeoff. The time was worth it as the Howard roared down the runway, banked north and circled back to the airport for a buzzing flyby before turning west and disappearing into the overcast.
When questioned whether they were supposed to be going to Colorado, one man joked, “Do they know they’re headed to Seattle?”
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