1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Howard500-Flapsdown: FlugKerl2· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Howard 500 is an American executive transport aircraft produced by Howard Aero Incorporated during the early 1960s.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 21.4 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 67 years ago, in 1959.
- Top speed is 5.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 21.4 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Can fly 1.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1959
- number built
- 22
- role
- executive aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- engines
- 2× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CB17
- crew
- 2
- passengers
- 14
- length
- 17.8 m
- wingspan
- 21.4 m
- height
- 4.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 15.9 t
- top speed
- 660 km/h
- cruise speed
- 563 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 10,668 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5918944, Wikipedia: Howard 500 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.