After the war he managed to obtain a Cessna UC-78 Bobcat (also known as the "Bamboo Bomber") and a surplus Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat which he restored, flew for awhile, then sold. During most of the past 48 years, the 63-year-old Howland has flown a large variety of aircraft, but in recent years, his interest turned exclusively toward designing, building and flying the slower and smaller ultralights.

    His first design, the Howland H-1 Meteor, was built four years ago. It is a low-wing, single-seater with fabric-covered aluminum tube structures and is powered by a 27-hp Rotax with a 2.58:1 gear reduction and Shettler 60 x 28 propeller.

    The wing employs a D-cell leading edge spar and C-section rear spar, and full-span ailerons. Both the forward and rear spars are made of 2O24-T3 web, capped with double aluminum angles.  Ribs are shaped foam capped with aluminum

channel. Wingspan is 28 feet and chord is 4 feet 8 inches, resulting in a wing area of 135 square feet. The H-1 is 18 feet long with an empty weight of 249 pounds and a maximum gross weight of 500 pounds.

    The H-1 Meteor's takeoff run and landing roll are both 175 feet. It has a 600-fpm rate of climb, a top speed of 62 mph, a cruise speed of 52 mph and a stall speed of 24 mph. It is stressed for + 4/ - 3g with wing loading of 3.7 pounds/square feet, and power loading of 17 pounds/hp.

    Howland's next project was the H-2 Honey Bee, which took six months and $12,000 to build, and first flew in 1987. After flying it for 120 hours, he sold it for $15,000. At the same time, he had completed a second H-2 in a record time of four months. Like his other air-craft, the H-2 was designed around the powerplant, in this case, a 40-hp Rotax 447 turning a 68 x 28 Shettler wooden propeller.

    The spunky little bipe features a 6½-inch-thick airfoil that was designed by Howland. The equal-span wings have ailerons on the bottom pair only. The leading edge spar is a D-cell of 0.040 2024-T3 web capped with double 0.040 angles, the rear spar is of similar materials in a C-section. The wing ribs, seven per wing panel, plus four in the 28-inch center section, are of 0.020 2024-T3 sheet metal [only on first H-2].

    The fuselage is a welded truss structure made of ¾-inch square 6061-T6 tubing.

      Howland' says he prefers to use square tubing because of its structural strength. However, he did concede and use round 6061-T6 tubing in the tail section. The entire plane is covered with Ceconite 7600.

    Wingspan of both wings is 19 feet, and chord is 4 feet, resulting in a total wing area of 152 square feet. Wing gap is 3 feet 11 inches, and N-struts are made of l-inch-diameter 0.083-wall 6061-T6 tubing. Flying and landing wires and tail braces are stainless steel. The full-span, 1-foot-chord ailerons move 20° up and down, and the 7-foot-span, l8-inch-chord elevators deflect 25° up and down. The rudder has a 30° left and right movement.

    The landing gear legs are V-shaped and consist of 1-inch aluminum tubes containing 1½-inch-long, 5/8-inch-diameter, 4130 heavy-duty die spring shock absorbers and Hegar wheels with hydraulic brakes and 4.00 x 6 tires.

    The steerable tailwheel system has a Gleason polyurethane wheel and 5-inch tire capable of absorbing 450 pounds of pressure~ Gear tread is 5 feet, and the wheelbase, 10 feet 9 inches.

    The fuselage of the H-2 is 16 feet 6 inches long. The cockpit is 22 inches wide, but it easily accommodates a 6-foot 3-inch, 23O-pound pilot. Layout is straightforward and typically ultra-light-Spartan, with a hand-pull starter for the Rotax. A 5-gallon fuel tank is located just ahead of the cockpit, and a turtledeck/headrest is just behind.

    Empty weight is 266 pounds, gross weight is 575 pounds. Rotation is at 30 mph after a 100-foot takeoff run, and climb rate is 1000 fpm at 40 mph. The never-exceed speed is 120 mph, while top speed in level flight is 60-62 mph, and cruise speed is 55 mph. Landing rollout distance is 300 feet without brakes.

    Honey Bee kits are planned for the near future-as soon as work on the H-3 Pegasus kit is complete. The H-3 is based on Howland's first ultralight, the H-l Meteor. The prototype made its first flight in May, 1988, and as soon as Howland was satisfied with its performance, he built three more for buyers in the local area. He turned them out side by side at his American Spinning and Metal Products plant--his "day job"-- at a fly-away price of $11,500 per copy.

    The Pegasus wing has a total of 14 foam ribs capped with aluminum channel rather than the all-aluminum formed ribs in the H-2 [Note: only the prototype H-2 had all-aluminum ribs]. Otherwise, its structure is very much like the H-2. The cowling, wingtips and prop spinner are made of fiberglass, and the entire plane is covered with Ceconite 7600. The aluminum fuselage weighs only 18 pounds. The wing has the same 6½-inch-thick profile, but has a slight taper from a 54-inch root chord to 48 inches at the tips. At 20½ inches across, the H-3's cockpit is slightly narrower than the H-2's.

    Fuselage length of the Pegasus is 15 feet. Wingspan is 25 feet and chord is four feet 5 inches, creating a wing area of 110 square feet. Wing loading is 4½ pounds/square feet, power loading is 17 pounds/hp, and the plane is stressed for +5/-3g.

    Empty weight is 252 pounds and maximum gross weight, 500 pounds. The takeoff distance and landing roll are 150 feet and 250 feet, respectively. The Pegasus has a rotation speed of 30 mph, climb rate of 600 fpm at 45 mph and stall speed of 27 mph. The H-3 is powered by a 27-hp Rotax 277 turning a 68 x 28 Shettler propeller.

    Though he had 65 hours flying time on it, Howland trailered the prototype Pegasus to Florida for Sun 'n Fun '89. But once there, he flew it extensively and and went home with the trophy for Most Innovative Ultralight.

    Recently, Howland completed another original design, the high-wing, single-seat, ultralight H-4 Chimp. It first flew off Howland's 1400-foot grass strip on June 24, 1989.

     Like the H-l, it has a 7-inch-thick wing, but with a narrower 4-foot chord. Construction is very much like the H-3, except that it has 18 ½-inch-diameter 20~T3 tube ribs per wing. And like all its predecessors, the H-3 has full-span ailerons with a tubular leading edge and formed ribs. However, instead of bellcranked aileron and elevator controls, the H-4 uses cables throughout. Also, the only fiberglass on the H-4 is the engine cowling.

    The Chimp's wings feature Howland's standard sheet aluminum D-cell front and C-section rear mainspars. The fuselage is a square4ube truss structure, and the main gear, the usual aluminum tube mounting Hegar wheels and brakes with 4.00 x 6 tires. The cockpit is a roomy 24 inches wide.

    Up front, there is a 35-hp Rotax 377 driving a 68 x 26 Shettler prop. The design load is for +5/ - 3g, a wing loading of 4.6 pounds/square feet, and a power loading of 15 pounds/hp. Wingspan is 27 feet 8 inches, chord is 4 feet even, and wing area 112 square feet. The Chimp fuselage is 16 feet 7 inches long. It weighs 250 pounds empty, and grosses out at 525 pounds.

    Takeoff run is 125 feet, rotation speed 30 mph, and rate of climb 800 fpm at 45 mph. Maximum speed in level flight is 60 mph, cruise speed is 55 mph and stall speed is 25 mph. Landmg roll is 250 feet.