Howard Hughes Engineering

Howard Hughes Engineering Pty Ltd
Privately held company
Industry Aerospace, automotive manufacturing, boat building and general engineering
Founded mid-1970s
Headquarters Ballina, New South Wales, Australia
Products Kit aircraft
Website www.lightwing.com.au
Australian LightWing GR532
Australian LightWing GR912 Sport 2000
Australian LightWing GR582
Australian LightWing GR912 Sport 2000

Howard Hughes Engineering Pty Ltd is an Australian aircraft manufacturer, boat and automobile builder and general engineering company based in Ballina, New South Wales.[1]

The company specializes in the design and manufacture of light aircraft in the form of kits for amateur construction and ready-to-fly aircraft for the European Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight and the American light-sport aircraft categories.[1]

Australian Lightwing is an aircraft brand of Howard Hughes Engineering.[1]

History

The company was formed in the mid-1970s as a boat building and general engineering concern, based in West Ballina. In 1985 the company expanded into aircraft design, as a result of the new ultralight aircraft rules enacted in Australia. The first aircraft design, the Australian LightWing GR532, was first accepted by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority on 29 September 1986. Working in welded 4130 steel tubing, the company offered an alternative to the aluminium and Dacron sailcloth ultralights then being produced.[2]

In 1995 the company relocated to the Ballina Byron Gateway Airport industrial park.[2]

Products

The company has produced a wide range of aircraft, including the high-wing GR 532 GR 582, GR912, Pocket Rocket, ALW Sport and Tapis, the low-wing two-seat SP-2000 Speed, four seat SP-4000 Speed and the low or high-wing SP-6000. There is also a biplane design the PR BiPe and the PR Breeze parasol wing.[1][3][4]

The SP-2000 has been accepted by the US Federal Aviation Administration as a light-sport aircraft.[1][5]

The company has also entered electric car design with the three-seat Hughes Engineering Road-e.[3]

Other products include a flight simulator, the Hughes Engineering Cunning Cat 30 ft (9 m) sailboat and a CAD/CAM Cutting Table. The company has also developed computer software, including a telephone messaging system and a business costing and payroll program.[6]

Aircraft

Summary of aircraft built by Howard Hughes Engineering
Model name First flight Number built Type
Australian Lightwing GR 532 Two-seat high-wing ultralight aircraft
Australian Lightwing GR 582 Two-seat high-wing light-sport aircraft
Australian Lightwing GR 912 Two-seat high-wing light-sport aircraft
Australian Lightwing SP-2000 Speed Two-seat low-wing, light-sport aircraft
Australian Lightwing SP-4000 Speed Four-seat low-wing kit aircraft
Australian Lightwing SP-6000 Six-seat high or low-wing kit aircraft
Australian Lightwing Pocket Rocket enclosed cabin single-seat high-wing aircraft
Australian Lightwing PR BiPe open cockpit biplane
Australian Lightwing PR Breeze single-seat parasol-wing kit aircraft
Australian Lightwing Tapis Two-seat high-wing kit aircraft
Australian Lightwing ALW Sport Two-seat high-wing kit aircraft

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, pages 29-30. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  2. 1 2 Howard Hughes Engineering (n.d.). "About Us". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Howard Hughes Engineering (n.d.). "Pocket Roket (PR)". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Federal Aviation Administration (10 September 2014). "SLSA Make/Model Directory". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Howard Hughes Engineering (n.d.). "Our Inventions and the ALW Range of Products". Retrieved 15 January 2015.
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