Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-22
.ACROBAT|C PLANE
TRIO FORMED HERE
Three Ships Equipped to Fly
Upside Down to Be Used by
New Navy Stunt Group.

three-plane Navy acrobatic airplane
section which promises to develop into
one of the greatest acrobatic teams
! American aviation ever has seen is be-
ing organized at the Anacostia Naval
Air Station. The section will specialize
In inverted formation flying, duplicating
with three planes flying of the type
made famous by Lieut.. Afford j. Will
liamS, jr., but which never has been
| seen before except as solo flying.
The section is being organized and
Will be led by native Washingtonian,
Lieut.. Matthias B. Gardner, operations
ot11cer at the Anacostia Naval Air Sta
ton His flying companions will be
Lieut.. Aaron P. Storrs, 3D., and Lieut.
Frederick M. Trapnell of the flight test
section, Anacostia.
Has Special Equipment.
Lieut.. Gardner came into the lime
light as the Nays foremost acrobatic
flyer during the Curtiss Marine Trophy
race last month when he performed
acrobaticS from the inverted position
which never had been performed by any
other pilot, except Lieut.. Williams and
which never before had been seen in
public.
Gardner has mastered the principles
of inverted flying in the Navy single
scatter fighter which was developed for
this purpose by Lieut.. Williams before
his resignation from the Navy last
Spring to continue racing plane deVel-
opment as private citizen The plane
Is equipped with special fuel and oil
feed systems which permit flying up
Side-down as readily as in the normal
position.
Two other planes of the same type
are being equipped with the special
fuel and oil systems and the three crack
Navy pilots will begin formation prac-
tice in the inverted position as soon
as the work is completed. The first of
the two new planes is almost ready for
use and the second will be ready within
week or 10 days.
1t is possible that the first public ap-
pearance of the new three-plane section
may be made at the National Air Races
in Chicago next August. The races are
the greatest aviation classic in the
United States and it is regarded as the
fitting place for such a section to make
its public debut
The section promises to eclipse the
only other similar formation groups
the country has had-the Army Air
Corps Three Musketeers" and the
Nays Three Seahawks" Both these
formations were created for the Ma
tional Air Races of 1927 at Los Angeles.
Col. Charles A. Lindbergh led the
Musketeers during the closing days of
the races and Lieut. Storrs, who will be
member of Lieut.. Gardner's new sec
ton, was member of the SeahaWks
With these three planes any of the
maneuvers possible with the present.
day airplanes may be executed includ-
ing the inverted or outside falling
leaf" which has been performed by
only two pilots in the world-Lieuts.
Williams and Gardner.
Gardner and Trapnell formerly were
squadron mates in the famous Navy
Red Ripper" squadron of the y. S. S.
Lexington. These two pilots and Lieut..
Storrs, who was second-place winner
in the Curtiss races, rank as the three
outstanding naval acrobatic pilots.
Was Born Here.
Lieut.. Gardner was born in the Ma
tional Capital November %, 1897, and
entered the Navy from Pennsylvania
July 6, 1915. He is one of the few men
who have graduated from both the
Army and Navy advanced flying schools.
Because of his long sea duty he has not
had an opportunity to appear much
in the public eye though he long has
been regarded as one of the Nays
finest pilots. He has served total of
seven and one-haf years at sea and
was operations officer of VF-5B fighter
squadron ABOARD the u. .. .. Le8lIlg-
ton when that squadron won the gun
merry money" in 1928. He has been at
Anacostia as operations officer since
last Summer.
Storrs and TrapneIl also have seen
much sea duty. Storrs was born at
Oswego, N. Y, December 8, 1901, and
was appointed to the Naval Academy
from New York in 1919. He served at
sea until selected for aviation training
at Pensacola and then went back to
sea as pilot in the aircraft squadrons
of the Battle and Scouting Fleets. He
was aide and flag lieutenant on the
staff of the commander of the aircraft
squadrons, Battle Fleet, when he was
transferred to the local station.
Trapnell was born in New Jersey
July 9, 1902, and entered the Naval
Academy in June, 1919, from West Vir-
GINA. Though he has been out of the
Naval Academy only seven years, in
Guiding the time he spent in aviation
training, he has had four and half
years at sea with the combat squadrons.