Page 7 - TNT Dec 2017

500
folding tables, divans (couches), galley and numerous stowage areas. Although, in a high-density configuration, it could carry 19 passengers.
The all-new wing center-section incorporated additional tanks for fuel, oil, deice and engine anti-detonation fluids. This wider and stronger wing spaced the engines further apart, lowered cabin noise, incorporated redesigned fowler flaps, and provided a wider gear stance. Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines (the same 18-cylinder radials used on the DC-6 airliner) produced
by Matthew McDaniel
a total of 5,000 hp (20 percent more than the PV-1). Two-speed superchargers boosted manifold pressure to 62 inches for takeoff and kept it well above sea-level power through the entire altitude envelope. Power was converted to thrust with 11-foot, Hamilton Standard props made up of Lockheed Constellation blades, modified Corsair hubs and DC-7 spinners.
The extra weight was carried using strengthened gear from the heavier PV-2 Harpoon with massive brakes adapted from the DC-7 (including an analog anti-lock system). Every flight control, mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic system was redesigned for increased reliability and redundancy. In the end, the only commonality between a WWII production PV-1/B-34 and the Howard 500 were the outer wing panels
and the tail feathers.
Certification Purgatory
Howard’s team worked and waited from 1959 to 1963 to achieve type certification of the HW-500. Meanwhile, large competitors (propelled by massive budgets and infrastructures earned as the spoils of
Front office of the Howard 500: One of the busiest throttle quadrants to be found on any twin.
December 2017
TWIN & TURBINE • 5