Howard DGA GH-2 – The “Big Blue Freeloader” Earns Its Keep

Matt Taylor flies his beautiful 1943 Howard DGA—amusingly nicknamed the “Big Blue Freeloader”—above NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, where he graduated from U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Shot during NAS Patuxent River’s annual airshow, Matt’s father Larry is on his wing in the Stearman. (Photo by Randy Hepp)

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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...

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