Red Bull restoration of Howard 500

Remember the Howard 500 well at West Malling in 1983. Still have a photo somewhere. I hadn’t seen one (or heard of one) before, but I was only 13 at the time.

The only time I ever saw it, it was belting over Purley at fairly low level on its way to a show at West Malling. Probably ’82 or ’83. Only got a brief glimpse of it out of the window, looked and sounded great!

Another “odd” American aircraft I had a brief view of through that window in ’75 was Peter Garrison’s first Melmoth, N2MU. Didn’t have a clue what it was until I saw a photo in Air Pictorial a couple of months later!

This Howard was SFAIK obtained by its current owner from Duncan Baker when he had it stored at Exeter (where it had been hangared for many years). When it first came into the U.K. it visited Coventry for some radio work by the late John Coggins. It was indeed stored at Shobdon for some years but moved to Exeter where it was based. It flew only occasionally and visited shows at Wroughton and Coventry. In more recent years, when it was obtained by its present owner, it was ferried up from Exeter to Coventry and was hangared alongside the Air Atlantique Classic Flight collection. Some engineering work was done while it was at CVT. The owner kindly allowed us to pull the aircraft out and fire it up during one of the night photography sessions we organised annually back then. The owner I believe was touring parts of Europe in it when an engine problem resulted in it being housed at the Red Bull facility until it was fit to fly again. It then returned to CVT from where it subsequently departed to the USA.

I love the Howard 500. The ultimate twin 🙂 Shame there are so little left 🙁

I believe this aircraft was stored at Shobdon for some time prior to Duncan Baker’s ownership. I’m pretty sure it was there when I was doing my ppl in 1977.

N500LN was NOT acquired from Red Bull, but from Duncan Baker. Engine troubles during a European pleasure trip prompted an egine chnge performed in Salzburg. Then 500LN was flown to Anoka County Blaine airport near Minneapolis, home base of Toni’s other Howard 500 and Grumman Albatross, and that is where 500LN was restored.