Please note: This aircraft is excluded from Pegasus Lifestyle Management and must be stored in a personal hangar.”
The Buckingham Howard NX-25 is a fixed-wing aircraft featured in Grand Theft Auto Online.
Description
The Howard first released as part of the Smuggler's Run update, but was originally included as a mission-only vehicle. However, as of the Howard NX-25 Week, commencing September 26th, it became available for purchase for all players.
Influence
HD Universe
The Howard NX-25 is largely based on the Hughes H-1 Racer, seen in the overall design and the cabin positioning.
Design
The aircraft is depicted with a seemingly larger fuselage compared to the Mallard and the Alpha-Z1. The front section house a bulky nose with a large three-bladed propeller, while four exhaust pipes are seen below. On the main section, there are two large wings that house the inner air brakes, the outer ailerons and the main landing undercarriage, whose hatches have a small split on the end that open when the "gear down" sequence starts and close back when the undercarriage is fully retracted. The cockpit has a sliding canopy and is located quite further to the rear in comparison to most aircraft, almost where the rear of the wing roots end. The tail boom is quite short and the empennage mounts a vertical stabilizer that is larger than the horizontal ones, while the underside has the corresponding hatches for the tail landing undercarriage. The interior of the aircraft uses the same dial set as the P-45 Nokota, albeit with a different layout due to the larger flight instrument panel.
The vehicle is painted with a primary color for the fuselage and rear stabilizers, as well as a secondary color for the portion of the nose where the propeller is mounted, and the wings. It uses a set of industrial wheels similar to those from trucks such as the Benson, the Mule and the Phantom.
Current Design Gallery
Performance
Grand Theft Auto Online
Vehicle
The Howard NX-25 seems to perform similarly, if not identical, to the Alpha-Z1. However, it has a slightly better top speed, and the raised landing gear makes it generally stable on landings than the aforementioned plane, while its take off speed is among the fastest, if not the fastest, with engine upgrades for planes in the game. The plane's handling, especially when upgraded, is very responsive, sometimes too responsive - the plane's ability to roll can be excessive and can sometimes cause the player to lose control when leveling out the plane immediately, so care must be taken when doing so.
One disadvantage of this plane is its horrible braking distance before coming to a complete stop when landing, which is worsened noticeably by engine upgrades. Careful planning about where one lands if not on a runway is highly recommended, as the undercarriage hatches give the aircraft lower clearance and can collide with obstacles or the terrain itself when pitching down too fast, potentially damaging the plane in the process.
The durability of the Howard is quite low, being a very fragile plane that will almost always either lose a wing or explode upon impacting a street lamp or any other movable obstacle compared to other planes which will often plow through with damage and lose speed. Armor upgrades will do little to nothing to help with its damage resistance.
The aircraft is powered by a single piston engine, which has a low-pitched sound in comparison to most aircraft.
Countermeasures
The vehicle can be fitted with countermeasures to improve its defensive capabilities against homing missiles, each one with their own attributes:
- The Chaff countermeasure disrupts the targeting system from missile launchers, rendering them unable to lock on the aircraft for five seconds. They have a delay of five seconds before being used again and only have 10 uses.
- The Flare countermeasure drops various flares from around the rear of the aircraft, which can "disorient" the homing missile in order to avoid chasing the aircraft. They have a delay of three seconds before being used again and only have 20 uses.
- The Smoke countermeasure creates a trail of smoke that can disorient the enemy pilot, but its effectiveness is very limited, as the trail is large enough for a standard cockpit and the enemy pilot would just need to move away and follow the smoke trail. It has no delay between uses and can be used indefinitely.
GTA Online Overview
| Take-Off Speed (0-60 knots in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh / knots) |
Vertical Climb/ Descent Rate (ft/min) |
Engine Type | Engine Location | Mass (kg / lbs) |
Fuel Tank Size (litres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 114.6 / 184.4 / 99.6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 450 / 992 | 65 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | Single piston engine, 3-bladed propeller | Front | Cannot be observed | Cannot be observed |
Rockstar Games Social Club
Grand Theft Auto Online
Modifications
Grand Theft Auto Online
| Category | Modification | Cost | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armor | No Armor | $1,000 | |
| Armor Upgrade 20% | $7,500 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 40% | $12,000 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 60% | $20,000 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 80% | $35,000 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 100% | $50,000 | ||
| Countermeasures | None | $700 | |
| Chaff (10) | $70,000 | ||
| Flare (20) | $110,000 | ||
|
$68,500 | ||
| Engine | EMS Upgrade, Level 1 | $9,000 | |
| EMS Upgrade, Level 2 | $12,500 | ||
| EMS Upgrade, Level 3 | $18,000 | ||
| EMS Upgrade, Level 4 | $33,500 | ||
| Handling | Stock Handling | $1,000 | |
| Smooth Handling | $20,000 | ||
| Sport Handling | $27,000 | ||
| Race Handling | $35,000 | ||
| Livery | None | $11,400 |  |
| Lucky Seven | $18,240 |  | |
| Traditional | $19,380 |  | |
| Banded Arms | $20,520 |  | |
| Four Squared | $21,660 |  | |
| XXXV | $22,800 |  | |
| Classic Stripe | $23,370 |  | |
| Howard NX-25 | $23,939 |  | |
| Racing Curve | $24,510 |  | |
| Racing Stripes | $25,080 |  | |
| Racing Stars | $25,650 |  | |
| Respray | Main article: Vehicle Customization in GTA V/Respray Colors | - | |
| Sell | Sell Vehicle | ||
Gallery
Grand Theft Auto Online
Video
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay
Grand Theft Auto Online
- May be provided during an Air Freight Cargo Steal mission, used to perform exciting stunts around the state to reveal the location of the cargo.
Locations
Grand Theft Auto Online
- Available for purchase on Elitás Travel for $1,296,750 or for $975,000 (after completing 27 Air Freight Cargo source missions), provided the player already owns a Hangar.
- It is classed as a Small aircraft.
Changes
| Update | Change(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto Online PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC | ||
| 1.41 | 08/29/2017 | Added Howard NX-25. Available for use only during Air Freight Cargo missions. |
| 09/26/2017 | Released to GTA Online. Added for purchase on Elitas Travel. | |
Trivia
General
- The aircraft's name is a reference to Howard Hughes, the main user of the Hughes H-1 Racer, while NX-25 is another reference to the plane's registration number[2].
- Both the pre-2019 "main" image and post-2019 "main" image on the vehicle's Social Club listing show it with the "Howard NX-25" livery, despite it not being the default configuration for the plane.
See Also
- Stuntplane - A stunt plane in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
- Mallard - Another stunt plane in Grand Theft Auto V.
- Alpha-Z1 - Another stunt plane featured in Grand Theft Auto Online in the same update.
References
- ↑
Seen when parked or when another player is flying a Howard NX-25.
- ↑ https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d8/8e/1c/d88e1c663f6a5526c26d1cfc8ce2e9f9.jpg