Harnessing the Sky

Harnessing the Sky is one of the last untold stories in one hundred years of naval aviation. This biography of Vice Adm. Frederick M. "Trap" Trapnell explores the legacy of the man who has been called "The godfather of current naval aviation." A pilot of calculated courage, Trap entered the Navy when test pilots were more like stuntmen than engineers. Airplanes had not yet come into their own as weapons of war, and they had an undeveloped role in the fleet. Trap's vision and leadership shaped the evolution of naval aviation through its formative years and beyond. When the threat of war in 1940 raised an alarm over the Navy's deficiency in aircraft—especially fighters—Trap was appointed to lead the Flight Test Section to direct the development of all new Navy airplanes. He played a key role in expediting the evolution of two of the superb fighters that came to dominate the naval air war against Japan—the Corsair and the Hellcat. After World War II Trap retuned as commander of the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland, to lead the Navy throught the challenges of transitioning to jets. Trap was not only the first U.S. Navy pilot to fly a jet, but is also recognized for defining the operating requirements for carrier-based, jet-propelled aircraft. Over the course of two decades Trap tested virtually every naval aircraft prototype and pioneered the philosophy and the methods of the modern engineering test pilot. he demanded comprehensive testing of each airplane in conditions and maneuvers it would face in wartime fleet operations. These innovations kept the Navy at the forefront of modern aviation and stand as an enduring legacy to the man who is regarded as the foremost test pilot in a century of naval aviation. — Front jacket flap.