Bevo Howard
Encyclopedia
Beverly "Bevo" Howard was an American aerobatic pilot and aviation businessman.
During the Second World War, he operated a primary flight training school for the United States Army Air Force at Orangeburg, South Carolina
. Over 6000 pilots, including 2000 French Air Force students, were trained at his school.
At Orangeburg, he presented and demonstrated to the Army Air Corps the concept of using Piper Cubs as forward artillery observer aircraft, which could be operated out of unimproved farm fields close to the front lines, which was adopted and used with large success throughout World War II.
After the war, Howard continued to train US Air Force and foreign pilots from Europe and the Middle East including training foreign pilots in P-51 Mustang
s.
The civilian Aviation Services run by Hawthorne overexpanded across North and South Carolina and were eventually consolidated into a single location on the municipal airport at Charleston, South Carolina, which he ran until his death in 1971.
A school run by his Hawthorne Aviation at Moultrie, Georgia
trained approximately 10,000 pilots from 32 countries in 10 years. In addition to the Spence Air Base
school in Moultrie, Hawthorne operated a number of both Air Force and Army contract schools across the Southeastern United States, notably at Fort Rucker
, Alabama and Fort Campbell
, Kentucky.
Howard began air show flying in 1933. In 1938, he became the first pilot to fly an outside loop in a light plane, flying a 37½ horsepower Piper Cub. He went on to win the National Lightplane Aerobatic Championships in three consecutive years from 1939 to 1941, and eventually became one of the best known air show pilots in the country. Since his primary occupation was running the many aspects of his company (Hawthorne Aviation), flying airshows became an avocation
and he flew many exhibitions for charity or cost such as the show where he was killed.
On October 17, 1971, while performing at an air show in Greenville, North Carolina, he struck a tree while flying his Bücker
Bü 133 Jungmeister
. One wing was knocked off the airplane, and Howard was killed instantly when it struck the ground.
His red and white checkered biplane
, rebuilt after the crash to non-flying condition, is now in the National Air and Space Museum
of the Smithsonian Institution
. A Bücker Bü 133
C Jungmeister, marked as his aircraft is also displayed at the Virginia Aviation Museum
at Richmond International Airport
, Virginia.
Life
Howard learned to fly in 1930 before the age of 16 by working as a lineboy for Hawthorne Flying Services in Augusta, Georgia. Shortly thereafter he purchased the struggling company and flew DC-2s for Delta and Eastern Airlines in order to support Hawthorne. He became the youngest pilot to receive an Airline Transport Rating before the regulations increased the age limit to 21.During the Second World War, he operated a primary flight training school for the United States Army Air Force at Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...
. Over 6000 pilots, including 2000 French Air Force students, were trained at his school.
At Orangeburg, he presented and demonstrated to the Army Air Corps the concept of using Piper Cubs as forward artillery observer aircraft, which could be operated out of unimproved farm fields close to the front lines, which was adopted and used with large success throughout World War II.
After the war, Howard continued to train US Air Force and foreign pilots from Europe and the Middle East including training foreign pilots in P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s.
The civilian Aviation Services run by Hawthorne overexpanded across North and South Carolina and were eventually consolidated into a single location on the municipal airport at Charleston, South Carolina, which he ran until his death in 1971.
A school run by his Hawthorne Aviation at Moultrie, Georgia
Moultrie, Georgia
Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County and the third largest in Southwest Georgia behind Thomasville and Albany. As of 2009, Moultrie's population is 15,199 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 6.07 percent....
trained approximately 10,000 pilots from 32 countries in 10 years. In addition to the Spence Air Base
Spence Air Base
Spence Air Base was a United States Air Force base that operated from 1941 to 1961. It was later reopened at Spence Airport.-History:The City of Moultrie gained its first official municipal airport, Clark Field, in the 1930s. In 1940, local leaders, aware of the Federal government's airport...
school in Moultrie, Hawthorne operated a number of both Air Force and Army contract schools across the Southeastern United States, notably at Fort Rucker
Fort Rucker
Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located mostly in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training base for Army Aviation and is home to the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and...
, Alabama and Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astraddle the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee...
, Kentucky.
Howard began air show flying in 1933. In 1938, he became the first pilot to fly an outside loop in a light plane, flying a 37½ horsepower Piper Cub. He went on to win the National Lightplane Aerobatic Championships in three consecutive years from 1939 to 1941, and eventually became one of the best known air show pilots in the country. Since his primary occupation was running the many aspects of his company (Hawthorne Aviation), flying airshows became an avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
and he flew many exhibitions for charity or cost such as the show where he was killed.
On October 17, 1971, while performing at an air show in Greenville, North Carolina, he struck a tree while flying his Bücker
Bücker Flugzeugbau
Bücker-Flugzeugbau GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1932. It was most notable for Its highly regarded sports planes which went on to be used as trainers by the Luftwaffe during World War II....
Bü 133 Jungmeister
Bücker Bü 133
|-See also:-Bibliography:* König, Erwin. Bücker Bü 133 "Jungmeister" . D-86669 Stengelheim, Germany: Unitec Medienvertrieb e.K.,...
. One wing was knocked off the airplane, and Howard was killed instantly when it struck the ground.
His red and white checkered biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
, rebuilt after the crash to non-flying condition, is now in the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. A Bücker Bü 133
Bücker Flugzeugbau
Bücker-Flugzeugbau GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1932. It was most notable for Its highly regarded sports planes which went on to be used as trainers by the Luftwaffe during World War II....
C Jungmeister, marked as his aircraft is also displayed at the Virginia Aviation Museum
Virginia Aviation Museum
The Virginia Aviation Museum is an aviation museum in Richmond, Virginia, adjacent to Richmond International Airport . The museum houses a collection of some thirty four airframes, both owned and on-loan, ranging from reproductions of Wright Brothers kite gliders to the still state-of-the-art SR-71...
at Richmond International Airport
Richmond International Airport
- Accidents and incidents :*In 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 from Trenton experienced loss of rudder control while on approach to Richmond, however rudder control was regained shortly after and the aircraft landed normally. There was one minor injury....
, Virginia.