SAD NEWS
D.U. “Dee” Howard, a pioneer of aviation and San Antonio entrepreneur, died Thursday February 12th 2009. He left a legacy that ranged from revolutionizing the modern business jet to giving professional race car drivers an edge.
Howard, 88, was perhaps best known for developing the thrust reverser for business jets. The breakthrough, first used on the famed Learjet, slowed the jet for landing without the use of parachutes.
His last aviation firm, Dee Howard Co., was well known in San Antonio for its massive orange hangars that still stand at San Antonio International Airport, which are now occupied by another tenant. Internationally, he was known for his business acumen in dealing with corporate leaders and kings.
“It's a shame to see people like that go, because they're not making them like that anymore,” said legendary Indy and NASCAR driver A.J. Foyt Jr. The two men were friends for many years and routinely attended events from the Kentucky Derby to the Indianapolis 500 together.
“Every time I had a problem with windage or something, I'd call Dee,” said Foyt, who now has his own racing team. “He really helped me build my Indy program. He was just smart.”
Born in Los Angeles in 1920, Howard went to work as an auto mechanic after quitting the ninth grade during the Great Depression, then leapt into aviation as a mechanic for Braniff Airlines in 1939 and later Slick Airways, both at Stinson Field in South San Antonio.
At Slick, he modified military surplus C-46 planes for a new cargo service and was involved through the entire certification process.
After the airline moved to California in 1947, Howard opened Howard Aero Service in a shed at Stinson. The company's reputation grew and his first employee was Ed Swearingen, who went on to develop the widely used Fairchild Metro commuter plane.
Howard converted the Navy Lockheed Ventura bomber into a business plane dubbed the Super Ventura. It almost went under after a wealthy Mexican investor died, but Howard flew the prototype to Fortune 500 companies all over the country to show it off and landed five orders.
“No question about it, if that hadn't worked, the company would have failed,” Ed Swearingen said in a 2005 interview. “But the thing about Dee is, he doesn't give up worth a damn.”
The plane eventually outsold the competing LearStar, but Howard and Bill Lear became friends.
In 1964, he started a new company called Dee Howard Co. and began improving existing planes. The first major success was developing the reverse thrusters for fan jet engines. Learjet first adopted them, and they soon became standard equipment around the world.
The company also developed a worldwide reputation for major aircraft retrofitting and detailed customization, including a $90 million customization of a Boeing 747 for Saudi Arabia's King Fahd in the 1980s.
Even after he sold the company in 1990 to an Italian conglomerate, Howard didn't slow down. He started River City Products to build and market a safer steering system for truckers and recreational vehicle owners.
Howard was mechanically minded and restored from scratch about 40 antique cars in his lifetime, with an emphasis on 1920s and 1930s models. The first floor of his office and museum near the airport housed much of the collection, and “none of the cars were under
$1 million,” said retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Lemes, a friend and colleague of Howard.
In 2005, before his health began to fail, Howard was still going to the office every day to do a little business and tinker with his inventions.
San Antonio Express-News Business writers Sanford Nowlin and Travis E Poling provided this report.
D U HOWARD 1920-2009
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