Flyoff: Beech Staggerwing vs. Howard DGA-15

Two icons from aviation's Golden Age, and one question: Which is better? Strap into a Beech D17 Staggerwing and a Howard DGA-15 with us for a good, old-fashioned fly-off.

[@rwbishop]

Sorry to hear about Pat... I made my first 6 or seven skydives out of a Howard... Lake Elsinore CA, Jan 1976. They had three at the time; used mostly for static line students.

[@MSgt-op4ke]

RIP Pat! Very sad ending!

[@snuffy1pro]

Being based in Fresno, I had a lot of opportunities to see this plane, and talk with Pat. “Queenie”, really is a nice looking, sounding airplane, and I am lucky to have some pics and videos of her. I remember hearing Pat passed. It was very sad.

[@worthweant6993]

This was a great fun video, thanks, And very sorry to hear about the stagger wing guy! He was a great funny funny guy. My condolences !

[@Hondaridr58]

This one showed up in my feed. I miss Pat. He was one of my best friends. I was his instructor for his instrument rating, which he did in Queenie. Damn good man, and a damn good pilot. I think about him a lot.

[@nickmoloney9820]

May he Rest in Peace such a shock Pat looked vibrant and full of life. My deepest sympathy to his family and friends and all that knew him

[@justinninke6405]

Beautiful planes. Pat seemed full of life, like a very likeable guy, RIP.

[@dh-flies]

That Staggerwing is gorgeous...

[@dennislyons3095]

I was friends with Pat & he is missed. He was always willing to assist anyone. He offered to help me replace a cylinder on our Howard at a fly in. The mechanic & I had it handled but, he was always there. About these two airplanes. Each has its strong & weak points. I love the room in the Howard along with the ease of fueling. Because of the landing gear design being more taken from a racer than thoroughly thought out, I'd prefer a true air over oleo like most modern airplanes. The large side area in a strong crosswind is 'challenging' in a Howard but, with the fuel capacity, it's easy to find a more suitable airport because of the fuel quantity/range. The howard is much roomier in both the front & rear seats, The Staggering is a bit more tender but plenty strong in its own right. I like them both but prefer the somewhat slower fixed gear Howard. There is nothing like flying behind the world's best recip engine over the mountains!

[@tqmx1]

It would have been nice to have had a Spartan exec. and a Waco SRE. That would have covered all the prewar 450hp speedsters.

[@lyleblack194]

Beautiful airplanes. Thank you for sharing.

[@cleareddirect7013]

I’m still a Howard guy

[@tomwaltermayer2702]

Great fun. BTW, if you'd included a sustained turn contest and a gliding contest, your DGA would have lost two more rounds. Short field landing. I don't know what kind of brakes the 17 had. Clevelands or original multi disks, and 900 feet is pretty long for getting a 17 stopped, unless your field was 6K + DA. Saw some commenter wanted a Spartan in the mix. Only flew 2 Spartans and don't have much time in the type, but they were, comparatively speaking, sick dogs on TO and disappointingly slow, considering they're retracts and monoplanes and all.

[@jpshipwash6240]

I love these airplanes. I was a little impatient to get the airplanes; it was 3 minutes into a 7 minute vid before the focus was off the pilots and onto the planes. Please.

[@kiethlowry2862]

RIP Pat. Why stagger the wings what are the advantages?

[@Edam-Channel]

forward visibility was a big one. also the retractable gear

[@crawford323]

What about the Cessna 195?

[@jameswest685]

Duh! give up, gimme dis plane, I'll love it.

[@justincase1575]

Just fly them and then judge them! Quit the yak!

[@Franklin-pc3xd]

These two old timers think they're funny - but the first three minutes of this is their totally boring blathering. Just skip to 03:00

[@RD2564]

What a waste of a beautiful Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing, would have been better if he'd drove his Chevy Tahoe into an overpass support like Aubrey McClendon did if he wanted to end it so bad.

[@samtatenumber1]

what the hell? fuck off

[@Pilotc180]

The Beech Staggerwing is way more classy than the DGA; sad that this one and its pilot left us