Howard DGA GH-2

The "Big Blue Freeloader" earns its keep

- JAN TEGLER

Fifteen minutes after takeoff from Santa Paula Airport northwest of Los Angeles, California, Matthew Taylor heard a loud whining sound coming from the Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial mounted just beyond the firewall of his 1943 Howard DGA.

It was May 2008 and Taylor, his wife Candi, and their two-year-old daughter Josie were leaving the Howard Fly-In at Santa Paula, bound for Henderson Field, Las Vegas. Passing through 7,000 feet, the nine cylinder engine began losing rpm, dropping from 2,000 to 1,500 in less than five seconds. Just then the engine emitted an audible "pop" and the revs bounced back to 2,000 rpm.

With the 450 hp motor running rough and the smell of burning oil, Taylor pulled his throttle from 30 inches of manifold pressure back to 22 inches. That smoothed the engine out a bit, but smoke still drifted into cockpit and a small amount of oil sprayed onto the windshield.

Quickly, the Marine Corps F/A-18 fighter pilot and Navy Test Pilot School graduate assessed the situation. Holding altitude almost directly over Interstate 5, the major north-south highway that runs along the coast and through central California, Taylor pressed the "NRST" button on his GPS to get a quick fix on the nearest airport.

Agua Dulce Airpark located between Santa Clarita and Palmdale was 13 nautical miles ahead. With the airport sitting at over 2,000 feet above sea level and surrounding mountains, it was worth considering other immediate options. But landing on I-5 would have been tricky at best.

The R-985's oil pressure was holding steady even with oil quantity now at half its 6.5-gallon pre-flight level. So Taylor nudged his throttle to about 25 inches to see whether the engine would keep running at a higher power setting. It started to shake again and he pulled back it to 22 inches, checked oil pressure and declared an emergency.

Opie Buys a "Damn Good Airplane"