In the golden age of American air racing, few names burned brighter than Howard. Benjamin "Benny" Howard — pilot, designer, and relentless competitor — built aircraft that won races, set records, and ultimately gave birth to one of the most versatile utility monoplanes of the pre-war era. Howard Aircraft Corporation of Chicago, Illinois, left a legacy that spans open-cockpit racers, elegant cabin monoplanes, and wartime trainers, all united by a philosophy of clean design and honest performance.
Benny Howard and the Origins of the DGA
Benjamin Dudley Howard learned to fly in the early 1920s and quickly established himself as one of America's most gifted racing pilots. Frustrated with the limitations of available aircraft, he began designing and building his own — a pattern that would define his career. The designation "DGA" — standing for "Damn Good Airplane" — was Howard's characteristically direct assessment of his own work, and it stuck as the official series name for all his production designs.
Howard's early racers were built in small numbers, often as one-off competition machines, but they demonstrated an aerodynamic sophistication that attracted attention far beyond the racing circuit. By the mid-1930s, Howard had established a small manufacturing operation and was producing cabin monoplanes for the civilian market.
The DGA Series — Aircraft by Aircraft
DGA-1 through DGA-5 — Early Racers
The earliest DGA designations covered a series of experimental and competition aircraft built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The DGA-3 was an open-cockpit racer, and the DGA-4 (1932, 2 built) continued the racing theme with an open cockpit configuration optimised for speed. The DGA-1, DGA-2, and DGA-5 were similarly early-period designs, with surviving documentation sparse for most of these one-off or very limited production machines.
DGA-6 — The Cabin Racer (1934)
The DGA-6, built in 1934 as a single example, marked a significant evolution — a cabin racer that enclosed the pilot while retaining the performance focus of the earlier open designs. It demonstrated that speed and comfort were not mutually exclusive, a lesson that would inform all subsequent Howard designs.
DGA-7
The DGA-7 continued the development sequence, bridging the gap between the racing origins and the emerging cabin monoplane line. Details on production numbers remain limited.
DGA-8 — First Production Cabin Monoplane (1936)
The DGA-8 (1936, 18 built) was Howard's first genuine production success — a four-seat high-wing cabin monoplane that translated the lessons of the racing programme into a practical, elegant personal transport. Clean lines, a well-appointed interior, and honest performance made it popular with wealthy private owners and corporate operators. The DGA-8 established the template that all subsequent cabin DGAs would follow.
DGA-9 and DGA-11 — Refined Cabin Monoplanes
The DGA-9 (7 built) and DGA-11 (4 built) were progressive refinements of the cabin monoplane formula, with incremental improvements to systems, powerplant options, and interior appointments. These models served a discerning clientele who valued quality over volume — a market Howard understood well.
DGA-12 — Limited Production Variant
The DGA-12 (2 built) represented a further variant in the cabin monoplane line, produced in very limited numbers. Like the DGA-9 and DGA-11, it catered to buyers seeking a bespoke quality that mass-produced aircraft of the era could not match.
DGA-15 — The Definitive Howard (520 Built)
The DGA-15 was the aircraft that defined Howard Aircraft Corporation's commercial legacy. With 520 examples built, it was by far the most produced Howard design and one of the most successful high-wing cabin monoplanes of the pre-war and wartime period. Available with a range of powerplant options — including the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior and Wright Whirlwind — the DGA-15 served as a private transport, air taxi, and military utility aircraft.
The military adopted the DGA-15 in large numbers: the U.S. Navy designated it the GH-1, GH-2, and GH-3 "Nightingale" for use as personnel transports and ambulance aircraft, while the U.S. Army Air Forces operated it as the UC-70. This wartime service gave the DGA-15 a reach and visibility that cemented Howard's reputation as a serious manufacturer rather than merely a racing specialist.
DGA-18 — Wartime Trainer (1941)
The DGA-18 (1941, approximately 60 built) was Howard's contribution to the wartime training programme — an open-cockpit basic trainer designed to meet military requirements for primary instruction. It represented a departure from the cabin monoplane line but demonstrated Howard Aircraft Corporation's ability to adapt its engineering expertise to military specifications under wartime pressure.
Legacy
Howard Aircraft Corporation wound down after World War II as military contracts ended and the surplus aircraft market undercut demand for new production. Benny Howard himself suffered serious injuries in a 1946 crash that effectively ended his active aviation career. The company did not survive into the postwar era.
Yet the DGA series — particularly the DGA-15 — left a lasting mark. Surviving examples are maintained by dedicated owners and type enthusiasts, and the aircraft appear regularly at airshows and fly-ins as representatives of a refined, pre-war American design tradition. Technical documentation for the DGA series is an essential resource for anyone maintaining or restoring these aircraft.
Howard Aircraft Corporation Documentation at Online Aviation Library
Online Aviation Library holds technical documentation for the Howard DGA series, with particular depth in the DGA-15 — the model for which the most comprehensive service and maintenance material survives. Our collection supports owners, A&P mechanics, restorers, and aviation historians working with these historically significant aircraft.
Explore the Howard DGA Manuals Collection →