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Frederick M. Trapnell
Frederick Mackay Trapnell (July 9, 1902 – January 30, 1975) was a United States Navy admiral and aviation pioneer. Trapnell was the first US Navy pilot to fly a jet aircraft, was considered the best, most experienced naval test aviator of his generation, co-founded the branch's first test pilot school, and played a pivotal role in both the development of future Naval aircraft and the survival of the post-World War II Navy's air arm. In 2015, Trapnell was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.
Trapnell was also a cousin of Bataan Death March survivor, LTG Thomas J. H. Trapnell[citation needed] and his nephew, the noted hijacker, Garrett Brock Trapnell.[citation needed]
Frederick Trapnell was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Benjamin Trapnell of Charles Town, West Virginia, and Ada Probasco of Ohio. Trapnell came from a prosperous family with a long military tradition. His father and several cousins attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland—although Benjamin's military career was cut short by an infamous hazing incident. Several other cousins were officers in the United States Army as was his brother, Wallace Probasco Trapnell, who served in the Signal Corps. Following his father, Trapnell attended the Naval Academy, graduated, and was commissioned an ensign in 1923. After serving for two years at sea on board the battleship USS California and the cruiser USS Marblehead, Trapnell was assigned to Naval Air Station Pensacola in 1926 for flight training, thus beginning his career as a naval aviator.
Trapnell reportedly had "a natural flying ability" and "a firm grasp of aerodynamics." While at Pensacola, he flew in a variety of aircraft, gaining significant experience and further honing his skills. In 1930, he was transferred to Naval Air Station Anacostia in Washington, D.C. In June of that year, along with two other pilots, he was assigned to a new unit, the Three Flying Fish, the Navy's first official aerial demonstration team. Flying specially modified Curtiss F6C-4 biplanes, they traveled around the nation performing intricate, aerobatic exhibitions.
The team was disbanded in April 1931, and Trapnell was soon assigned to the small plane unit attached to the Navy's dirigible airfleet. From 1932 to 1934, he served on the airship USS Akron at Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey and her sister, USS Macon at Naval Air Station Sunnyvale, California. At the latter installation, he was responsible for re-engineering the apparatus for hooking up aircraft while in flight as well as a rewriting the procedure. In 1938, Lt. Trapnell flew in a squadron of eighteen bombers from San Diego, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, in what was "the greatest over-ocean formation flight" to date.
LCDR Trapnell returned to Anacostia in 1942 as the chief of the Test Flight Section. Two years later, and with promotion to commander, he relocated with the section to the new Naval Air Test Center in Maryland.
With World War II raging, Trapnell dedicated himself to redesigning flight testing and procedures. He initiated a series of lectures and classes to familiarize pilots not only with the rudiments of flying but to learn the intimate details of flight engineering, performance, stability, and control. He required that the aviator know every aspect of his aircraft under all conditions.
So respected was Trapnell's knowledge and ability that, in 1942, he was personally requested by Roy Grumman to evaluate the new Grumman F6F Hellcat, the Navy's answer to the lethal Japanese Zero. Circumventing the usual testing procedures, Grumman had Trapnell take the fighter on a crash program. "He came to the factory and flew the prototype F6F. It suited him, as I remember, except for the longitudinal stability—he wanted more of that. We built it in and rushed into production without a Navy certificate on the model. We relied on Trapnell's opinion. His test flight took less than three hours. I'm not sure we ever got an official OK on the Hellcat design." Trapnell later gained valuable knowledge of what the Hellcat and its predecessor, the Wildcat, were up against after performing extensive tests in a captured Zero recovered from a crash that same year.
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Frederick M. Trapnell
Frederick Mackay Trapnell (July 9, 1902 – January 30, 1975) was a United States Navy admiral and aviation pioneer. Trapnell was the first US Navy pilot to fly a jet aircraft, was considered the best, most experienced naval test aviator of his generation, co-founded the branch's first test pilot school, and played a pivotal role in both the development of future Naval aircraft and the survival of the post-World War II Navy's air arm. In 2015, Trapnell was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.
Trapnell was also a cousin of Bataan Death March survivor, LTG Thomas J. H. Trapnell[citation needed] and his nephew, the noted hijacker, Garrett Brock Trapnell.[citation needed]
Frederick Trapnell was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Benjamin Trapnell of Charles Town, West Virginia, and Ada Probasco of Ohio. Trapnell came from a prosperous family with a long military tradition. His father and several cousins attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland—although Benjamin's military career was cut short by an infamous hazing incident. Several other cousins were officers in the United States Army as was his brother, Wallace Probasco Trapnell, who served in the Signal Corps. Following his father, Trapnell attended the Naval Academy, graduated, and was commissioned an ensign in 1923. After serving for two years at sea on board the battleship USS California and the cruiser USS Marblehead, Trapnell was assigned to Naval Air Station Pensacola in 1926 for flight training, thus beginning his career as a naval aviator.
Trapnell reportedly had "a natural flying ability" and "a firm grasp of aerodynamics." While at Pensacola, he flew in a variety of aircraft, gaining significant experience and further honing his skills. In 1930, he was transferred to Naval Air Station Anacostia in Washington, D.C. In June of that year, along with two other pilots, he was assigned to a new unit, the Three Flying Fish, the Navy's first official aerial demonstration team. Flying specially modified Curtiss F6C-4 biplanes, they traveled around the nation performing intricate, aerobatic exhibitions.
The team was disbanded in April 1931, and Trapnell was soon assigned to the small plane unit attached to the Navy's dirigible airfleet. From 1932 to 1934, he served on the airship USS Akron at Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey and her sister, USS Macon at Naval Air Station Sunnyvale, California. At the latter installation, he was responsible for re-engineering the apparatus for hooking up aircraft while in flight as well as a rewriting the procedure. In 1938, Lt. Trapnell flew in a squadron of eighteen bombers from San Diego, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, in what was "the greatest over-ocean formation flight" to date.
LCDR Trapnell returned to Anacostia in 1942 as the chief of the Test Flight Section. Two years later, and with promotion to commander, he relocated with the section to the new Naval Air Test Center in Maryland.
With World War II raging, Trapnell dedicated himself to redesigning flight testing and procedures. He initiated a series of lectures and classes to familiarize pilots not only with the rudiments of flying but to learn the intimate details of flight engineering, performance, stability, and control. He required that the aviator know every aspect of his aircraft under all conditions.
So respected was Trapnell's knowledge and ability that, in 1942, he was personally requested by Roy Grumman to evaluate the new Grumman F6F Hellcat, the Navy's answer to the lethal Japanese Zero. Circumventing the usual testing procedures, Grumman had Trapnell take the fighter on a crash program. "He came to the factory and flew the prototype F6F. It suited him, as I remember, except for the longitudinal stability—he wanted more of that. We built it in and rushed into production without a Navy certificate on the model. We relied on Trapnell's opinion. His test flight took less than three hours. I'm not sure we ever got an official OK on the Hellcat design." Trapnell later gained valuable knowledge of what the Hellcat and its predecessor, the Wildcat, were up against after performing extensive tests in a captured Zero recovered from a crash that same year.