| Bud Rodgers, e-mail, 12.01.2013 16:44 I flew as co-pilot out SBN from late 1963 to early 1967 for Studbaker corp.in a Howard 250. The engines carried the Studbaker name plate.In 1997 I came across the Howard parked next to hanger belonging to air museum I believe it was in ABQ.The curator gave me co-pilot's yoke.I took two pictures similar to the two that I have from the 60's
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| Bud, e-mail, 09.01.2013 05:27 772 234 8546Brroughers crash willow run
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| Bud, e-mail, 09.01.2013 05:23 1965 crash Brroughs corp
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| Manny, e-mail, 27.06.2012 00:52 Howard Hughes had the L-18 converted to a "Learstar" I flew N-163R in the early '70s. It was owned by the Carterpillar corp before being ourchased bt Antillean Marine in Miami. What a machine!!!
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| Paul Sheehan, e-mail, 05.05.2012 08:16 I'm trying to find Lodestar N796G MSN 18-2102 which was still registered to Omni International in Washington DC at late as 1977. It was sold soon after and then all trace of it ceases. The FAA show it as "privately sold - not for sale". Can anyone help me with this please as this aircraft is historically important in Australia. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks - Paul Sheehan, Melbourne, Australia
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| Jan P, 05.09.2011 22:05 This was the plane my grandfather was killed in 1962 over Ohio. An Ashland Oil private plane.
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| Klaatu, e-mail, 10.07.2011 18:51 An armed version of this transport became the AAF's B-34 Ventura and Navy's PV Harpoon.
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| Don Humphreys, e-mail, 06.06.2011 04:29 Had many an hour as M/Sgt/ copilot on 39618 out of EL Toro in 1944. Went from there to USN Flight School
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| Darrell Meldrum, e-mail, 15.03.2011 18:56 Worked on one at Hobby in Houston in the 60's Coming back from Cosamel it lost oil in one eng. flew 600mi into Galveston on one eng. mine very proud of my work
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| Ron Hedges, e-mail, 07.03.2011 04:06 I flew as co-pilot/mechanic early in my career on a Dee Howard converted Howard-250 with all the mods. Great airplane !!
Ron Hedges
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| Bsrney Snyder, e-mail, 07.02.2011 06:54 My dad worked for Forest Oil of Bradford, PA at the time.. . . 1952. They hired a Pan Am pilot who flew them all over the USA. The company -a private one, obviously- let my dad use the plane for his personal use. All he had to do was pay for the gasoline. What a plane. I can't begin to imagine the rudder pressure needed to keep it lined up on take off under full throttle.
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| Dan Feltham, e-mail, 04.12.2010 18:31 Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc. owned two Lodestars in the late '50s and early '60s. I helped manage aerial surveys in Morocco and Libya using a magnetometer for oil exploration purposes. We flew most of the northern half of Libya, including the Sirte Basin, using aerial photos and SHORAN for exact navigation. The Lodestar performed flawlessly!
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| dan naugle, e-mail, 20.11.2010 02:25 I have a propeller off of a lockeed laodstar that crashed at willow run in 1965 if anyone has any info of this crash please let me know
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| Jack Thompson, e-mail, 11.11.2010 02:53 I previously made comment. As I have an e-mail change will comment futher. I flew Lockheed N343S in many of Governor George C. Wallaces campaigns through out the United States. I certainly miss this grand L-18 (C-60)
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| Dan Colburn, e-mail, 07.11.2010 05:36 I flew Lodestar for the Rock Island Lumber Co.The Weyerhaeuser family from 1956 to 1962 company. Our Lodestar was a Navy R3D had Wright 1820 engines.
Our license number was N4S for "Four Square" lumber. I flew it 2500 hours without an engine failure. This was due to our wonderful maintenance man Mr. Bob Sanders. I don't remember ever canceling or delaying a flight due to mechanical problems.
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| Harold Carlin, e-mail, 08.09.2010 04:55 Flew as radioman on this plane out of Naval Air Station at Corpua Christie,Texas. Admiral Mason was in charge of all primary pilot training and traveled to Pensacola,Jacksonville,&Washington DC .This was in 1943 & 1944
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| Harold Carlin, e-mail, 08.09.2010 04:48 Flew as radioman on this plane out of Naval Air station, Corpus Christ, Tex.Admiral Mason was in charge of all primary pilot training & used to fly to Pensacola, Jacksonville & Washington,DC in 1943&194
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| Gerald Barnes, e-mail, 07.09.2010 23:39 International Paper Company had a fine plain Lodestar with Wright 1820s, N59720. I co-piloted her from 1970-1972 out of Mobile, Alabama. She had been ordered by IP and was conscripted during WWII before they took possession. After the war, IP took the bird out of the box and used it until at least the mid '70s then gave it to a university up north. Great old bird, tough and resilient.
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| JERRY THOMPSON, e-mail, 19.01.2010 02:05 I flew a Ventura, (PV-1) in early 60's. It was a larger version of the Lodestar, and was remanufactured and modified by the DEE HOWARD company of San Antonio,Tx. It was the ultimate airplane of the piston engine era. Two R-2800-10 2000 H.P. engines, wing and fuselage changes. DC-6 landing gear and props gave it a cruising speed of 312m.p.h. at 57% power at 10000 ft. Ed Sweringen was the excelent design engineer for howard.
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| sid glaser, e-mail, 14.07.2009 16:18 I flew from Managua, Nicaragua to Miami on a TACA Airlines Lodestar in March, 1944. we left MGA at 7 AM and after stops in Tegucigalpa, San Salvador, and Merida, Mexico, we landed in MIA in late afternoon.
It was my second airplane ride after arriving in MGA in a TACA Tri-Motor Ford.
Of my more than 700 commercial flights, those two are still the most memorable.
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| Joe, e-mail, 20.02.2009 04:39 I flew N1490V for six years from 1962. 1490V had the Wright Cyclone R-1820-56 engines. A straight Vanilla lockheed. The only Mod was the longer tail cone. Reliable machine . Had the L-2 auto pilot and a RDR Bendix Radar. The interior had a Couch and Bar, Card Tables and opposing seats.
Joe Moore
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| Jack Thompson, e-mail, 14.05.2008 02:50 Grand Old BIRD......Enjoyed flying it for many years. I really loved it......Sorry theres mot many left and you don't hear too much about them.............Jack Thompson
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