Jack Frye in the movie, The Aviator

The movie The Aviator directed by Martin Scorsese won an Academy Award for best Screenplay by John Logan. It was and is a fantastic splash of fast airplane action and beautiful cinematography surrounding the life of billionaire Howard Hughes. One of the key characters whom we are most interested in is Jack Frye and his portrayal in the film.

If you have seen the film and would be interested in my review of Frye's character, I have posted a page containing my thoughts in a total of 9 scenes in the movie. If you have not viewed the movie I would like to encourage you to do so. Its very entertaining and worth your time. You can access my review via the link below.

The Aviator Review

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The Men and the History

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Jack Frye Plays Howard Hughes Hand...

Since December 1934, our young, energetic, fiercely competitive 30 year old President of TWA stood at the crossroads of aviation history. He had helped steer the DC aircraft revolution, was the first to offer passengers a new way of life in travel, and he made air transportation respectable, safe, comfortable and on time. Jack Frye pioneering through the 30’s saw the beginning of major technological advances in aircraft and many logistical ground support operations. The discovery of calm flight above the clouds and the discovery of 150 mph winds up there we now call the jet stream were Frye firsts. The first pressurized cabin airliner, the 307 Stratoliner. The advancement of radio communications from ground to air crew that enabled great scheduling efficiency. And the introduction to the new Sperry Auto Pilot system. These are just a few innovations that occurred during the Frye legacy. Then onto the 40’s, Jack Frye helped conceive the new Constellation aircraft that opened up International travel. His service as president in working with the US Government during WWII was superior and generously rewarded by President Harry Truman with the Medal of Merit, America’s highest civilian decoration. The huge expansion of travel routes and eventually the establishment of shorter global air routes, Jack Frye was on the cutting edge of airline development.

Standing at the gate of a new frontier in air travel, Jack Frye owned it, loved every minute of it, consumed it 24 hours a day with extraordinary skill and style for 13 courageous pioneering years as TWA’s chief. His modus operandi was always forward thinking and committing to growing TWA and airline travel as a whole, and this cost money. We must remember the airline industry was seeing new advancements and new ideas on a daily basis during the 30’s through the 40’s. This fact couldn’t be helped being an immerging industry since the dawn of powered flight at Kitty Hawk. But to Jack Frye’s demise as TWA’s chief executive, there was and is always the case in any large corporation, bean counting lawyers that were constantly at his coattails. One Noah Dietrich, Howard Hughes chief council just couldn’t stomach Jack Frye spending his client’s money on airplanes and staff. He couldn’t and wouldn’t see the silver lining beyond the clouds with his business management style. Dietrich was about protectionism, Frye was about growth and expansion and so was Hughes. But, as has been recorded, Dietrich got into Howards ear and for the most part convinced his master that Frye needed to go.

Through the pilots strike in 1946 amidst plunging revenue during the recession, Howard Hughes was still loyal to Jack Frye and he still favored Jack’s business style and bravado though guardedly. According to George Spater, “Hughes wanted to retain Frye on the condition that Dietrich have a greater say in the running of the airline” (Serling 1983). This alleged notion was flatly denied by Frye. It has been recorded that Jack Frye during this tumultuous time of friction between him and Howard, he installed long telephone extension cords in his Washington residence that would enable him to have hours long conversations with Hughes while walking from room to room or preparing a meal or a drink without interruption. Some of the private conversations of Jack and Howard was known to have been recorded by Frye, but to this day no one knows what happened to the tapes. My suspicion is Jack either destroyed them or packed them away in a box of many that ended up in a storage facility, somewhere.

Before Hughes could fire him, Jack Frye played his hand and resigned from TWA, February 17, 1947. He had no ill will toward Hughes, and likewise of Howard. In fact Howard really wanted him to stay on condition he take some of Dietrichs financial advice. Hughes was obviously tentative but Jack being the visionary pioneer type refused. And for good reason. Obviously by Jack Frye’s incredible track record of achievements up to 1947, his career was dedicated and purposeful and made fantastic headway in the globalization of air travel. Did Howard forget that? Was he such a whiner and a small man not to see what Jack Frye had achieved for his investment? Sure the company was in the red but was about to rocket into the black if Jack Frye stayed on board and on course. It was Noah Dietrich that saddled Hughes into succumbing. One of the last persons Jack Frye saw before officially leaving TWA was Hal Blackburn. With unbelief he asked Jack, “Are you really leaving us?” Frye sadly replied, “Blackie, I don’t know.” “Under the circumstances, unless things change, I can’t stay.”

The following are some employee memories of Jack Frye from Serling's 1983 book – Howard Hughes Airline.

Buy it here

George Spater – “I don’t know if he’s ever gotten the credit he deserved. He was a great believer in high standards of service. He’d go over the TWA advertising copy word by word to make sure it was in good taste and honest. He insisted that the airplanes be clean. He was a great originator and innovator.”

John Collins – “It was Jack Frye who thought up the idea of putting a red carpet down between the boarding gate and the airplane. I laughed at this and talked Jack out of it by claiming the carpet would blow away the first time there was a high wind. But later United adopted the idea and so did TWA.”

Carter Burgess – “God he was a bright guy. He was a great writer, a remarkable master of the English language. Some of his memorandums were masterpieces. I remember one he wrote to John Collins about the size of the cinnamon buns on morning flights. ‘They look like cow pies’, Frye complained. He could be ruthless yet he was a very decent guy, and he could fly an airplane about as well as any pilot who ever lived.”

Bob Rummel – “Easygoing in appearance but very tough and determined underneath.”

Jean Phillips – Frye was reputed to have Indian blood and Jean believed it. She told Jack, “When you come down the corridor I know it’s you before you step foot in my office.” But I never hear Frye coming. I think it’s because he walks on the balls of his feet like an Indian.

Image courtesy Eric Johnson collection

Jack Frye left a huge part of himself with TWA,

                                                 the airline he loved so much...

All that I have read, and the former TWA employees that I have spoken too unanimously concur that Jack Frye was a beloved president. To this day for those who remember him and his story, every single memory and perception of the man who trail blazed TWA into the history books express - Jack Frye was the aviators aviator, the employees favorite boss, and the passengers fondest memory of a man who delivered them the best travel service with style and a pleasure knowing they were in safe and comfortable hands. It was Jack Frye that originally conceived and delivered the idea of safety, on time schedules and comfort for his guest travelers. And it is recorded that many employees in management and in the rank and file truly wanted Frye to return as their chief through his remaining 12 years of life. He constantly put himself in the travelers position to find out what pleased them as America's most personable airline executive... What a Legacy! May he continue to be remembered and honored as such.

We have covered most all of Jack Frye's incredible career pioneering the airline industry, but there is much more to tell of this great American. Stay tuned...

Historic Constellation Flight, April 17, 1944

The Constellation makes History
“She Flew Like a Dream”
(Jack Frye headline quote after landing)

Around 3:00am, a tall husky man walked up among the watchers. It was Jack Frye, wearing the same tan jacket and trousers he had all week as he and Howard Hughes put the Connie through her final pre-flight trials. He shook hands, glanced at his watch and started up the ladder to the cockpit. As he reached the top, a photographer called to him and snapped a picture. With a wave, he disappeared in the inner darkness of the plane.”

In what would change Transcontinental and International air travel forever, Jack Frye and Howard Hughes devised a secret plan to shock the world by allowing a first glimpse of the new super airliner, the Constellation via a record flight across the United States. Adorned in full blown TWA colors with the words - ‘The TRANSCONTINENTAL Line’ painted and displayed above the passenger windows in bright TWA red, the secret plan was set. The first commercial flight of the Connie did indeed produce shock and awe. The Army Air Corps had already taken possession of the new fleet of aircraft on paper for the war effort and quite frankly were expecting this #2 plane to arrive at National Airport DC, in Army drab colors and markings. Much to their surprise (furious!), Connie #2 appeared gleaming in all its polished glory on the tarmac as Jack Frye taxied her to the terminal among a large crowd of dignitaries, civilians, military reps and the press. The damaged ego’s didn’t last long for soon after the landing and greetings, the Army boys were all smiles greeting and congratulating Frye and Hughes profusely.

Caption above reads:

This was a big moment in the life chart of the Constellation. Shrouded at Burbank in the darkness of the night, the photo was shot at the moment her wheels left the black runway and she rose into the air for her first trip across the continent. On she went following the Great Circle route across America. Six hours and 58 minutes later she was reflecting the bright sunshine along the Potomac. Howard Hughes and Jack Frye, co captains were the first to leave the ship at the National Airport in Washington.

Actual video of the historic flight courtesy AIRBOYD

Jack Frye lands and taxi’s Constellation #2 at Washington D.C.,

April 17, 1944, The Historic record flight of the ‘CONNIE’

The record flight was completely successful with co-captains Howard Hughes on the stick the first leg and Jack Frye the second to DC. Lifting off the runway at 3:56am Monday morning, April 17^th, the record time to DCA was 6 hours 58 minutes nonstop. The flight crew was Bolton, Glover, Proctor, Chiappino and De Campo. R.C. Loomis was the radioman. Passengers were Olson, Minsor, Baron and Spruill. Lockheed observers were Stanton, Thoren and Watkins. Government personnel aboard were Lt. Col. Shoop and Mr. Solomon of the Air Transport Authority.  The flight route first passed over Kingman, AZ, then onto Taos, NM headed to Wichita, KS. Then onto St. Louis, MO, to Cincinnati, OH through to Washington DC. Average speed of the historic flight was 332 mph. Jack Frye in the anticipation of demonstration flights and for photographic publicity purposes had Ida Staggers and eight other hostesses at National Airport to greet the plane.

Hughes (L) and Frye (R) disembarking the Constellation after its historic flight.

Caption reads:

The Constellation, new queen of land planes, zoomed across the girth of the nation this month in 6 hours, 58 minutes, setting a new transport record on her maiden flight from Burbank, California to Washington D.C. Jack Frye, left, and Howard Hughes, right, co-captains of the trip are shown immediately after their arrival in Washington. Jesse Jones, center, secretary of Commerce, was the first to greet the two pilots of the record flight.

Caption reads:

Among the persons who congratulated Jack Frye upon arrival of the Constellation at the Washington National Airport were, left to right, Col. Frank H. Collins, Commanding Officer, ATC, Washington National Airport: Oswald Ryan, (Jack Frye) and Josh Lee. Ryan and Lee are members of the Civil Aeronautics Board.


Letter from Frye and Hughes to TWA employees. It is this writer’s opinion Jack is the actual author of this letter. It just has that Jack Frye flavor we have read in other notes to his employees.

Some images courtesy WHMCKC

After this historic flight, the Constellation became the worlds star airliner. It was the biggest, the fastest and the most beautiful airliner ever built. It’s sleek and slippery shape ushered in a new understanding of what global air travel can become (Frye, Hughes & Johnson already knew this). The glamour of it, the speed in which one could travel from New York to Europe overnight in record time and comfort put into the minds of the public new horizons never before imagined. The plane literally threw a fast ball propelling air travel into the coming jet age we now enjoy. At this point in Jack Frye’s illustrious career the Connie had become his crowning achievement.

This magnificent feat and genius of Jack Frye and Howard Hughes remains one of those special moments in history that serves as a milestone marker in the world of aviation. From this writers opinion if it weren't for the Constellation’s conception, the vision from a single man, Jack Frye, the man who saw into the future more than any other airline executive of his time, its my opinion the airline industry would have looked different in some respects and probably less safe and secure until other men could have caught up to Frye’s unwavering dedication in this respect. By then and I wouldn’t wish it, many more airline accidents and the loss of life could have occurred. Remember, one of Jack Frye’s foundational treatises with determined focus since the 1920’s was ‘Safety’. He was the man who brought this commandment to the forefront of American airline aviation, and he forced the issue everyday he sat in the presidents seat. I can imagine him sitting with himself thousands of times in some office or cockpit seat alone thinking, “Did I do enough to ensure our passengers safety.”

I have served in the US Navy on carrier flight deck duty launching and retrieving jet aircraft, probably the most dangerous workspace in the world. And I am the safety coordinator in my business career of which I have witnessed some horrific accidents militarily and in the private sector. I know how important safety measures are to curtailing injury or worse. So in a sense I think I can relate to Jack’s genuine concern about safety. It had to be his top concern.

I hope you can appreciate by now on this blog through all of the notable firsts, articles and recollections of Jack Frye just how much he impacted the airline industry. I am in awe every week more and more as I learn about him and I find myself often attempting to get into his head to know the man more. This may be due to him being my cousins husband as there is a connection there that tends to inject a little more importance from my perspective of Jacks legacy, his career and his personal traits. Nevertheless, its easy to understand his drive and conviction to assuring everything was given great attention to detail on the Constellation project in all aspects of the design. It is true this great plane would not have happened without Jack Frye’s vision and Howard Hughes money.

Unlike Hughes, Jack Frye has not received the notoriety he deserves for his contribution to the airline industry and aviation at large, not even a tenth. This we know because he was a humble and gentile man with a big hearted personality beaming with confidence. He didn’t seek the limelight, he proved his worth and effectiveness in the cockpit and the board room. He is not a household name, he is a silent public figure that is begging to break out. His story has yet to be told to America in a big way, and for this reason he should now finally be put on the pedestal of greatness for all to see in the 21^st century. This accolade he at least deserves, and the Constellation he conceived surely helps to place him in his proper historical seat.

He wasn’t superman but he came damn close!

To follow along with the 2014 Flight of the Connie re-creation, click this link.

Eric Johnson

Owner/Creator

Jack Frye Aviation Pioneer blog

2013

Frye's TWA gets a shot in the Arm

Mr. John D. Hertz (Yellow Cab Company, Hertz-Rent a Car) was the prime shareholder of TWA in the 1930’s whom which Jack Frye and Paul Richter had to deal with in company business. This included the acquisition of new airplanes to support President Frye’s vision of a growing and successful airline. By 1939 Jack grew more and more suspicious that he was about to lose control of his airline over Hertz inexperienced ideals for how he thought things should progress. The following is quoted from Serling’s ‘TWA – Howard Hughes Airline’.

 

 

The key blowup came not because of Frye, but Richter. Early that year Frye and Richter attended a directors meeting at Hertz’s home in Chicago. By then, Paul was executive vice-president and remained one of the few supporters Frye had on the board. Another was the young lawyer, George Spater, who also was at the meeting and remembers how the volcano erupted.

 

On the agenda was Richter’s request to install full-feathering propellers on all TWA aircraft. When he brought up the matter, Hertz asked rather tartly, ‘Is it necessary?’

 

The short-tempered Richter took immediate offense and accused Hertz of impugning his technical expertise. A brief argument ensued, ending when Hertz adjourned the meeting so they could go out to the race track and see a couple of his horses run.

 

“It was probably a rather innocuous incident”, Spater adds. “I honestly don’t believe Hertz meant to raise a fuss. He actually knew nothing about propellers and probably was more interested in getting the meeting over quickly so they could go to the races. But it was the proverbial straw hat that broke the camel’s back. Richter and Frye were furious and Frye decided to do something about the situation”.

 

Next, what Jack Frye did was to shape TWA’s destiny for the next two decades. He flew to Los Angeles for a meeting with Howard Hughes.

 

HISTORY NOTE:

Frye and Hughes had known each other for year’s prior though not personal friends. There is also some reports they knew each other as kids on the ranches in Texas. More on that in another post. Jack had flown a brief stint in Hughes movie Hells Angels. Partner Paul Richter had also flown in that movie on many sorties. Hughes had also purchased the DC1 from TWA in order to fly around the world but changed his mind for it being slower than the Lockheed 14 Super Electra. He eventually parked the One and Only DC-1 at Burbank airport. He sold the DC1 to the English Viscount, Forbes, who kept it for only four months until he sold it to a French aviation broker. The plane went to Spain’s government registered EC-AAE. Then it went to Iberia Airlines as ‘Negron’ and found itself in the Spanish Civil War. In 1940 the DC1 finally had its last flight as it lost power on take-off and landed wheels up in Malaga Spain never to be repaired or flown again.

 

Jack Frye had apparently shared his meeting with Hughes to a few trusted associates in later years. In late December 1938 or early January 1939, both Frye and Richter according to Otis Bryan, had met HH at his home. Frye it seems told Hughes that he and others just couldn’t get along with Hertz anymore. “I have an idea you might be interested in buying a airline business?”

They talked about a few different options and other airline offerings they would run for Hughes. The situation was so bad Jack Frye was willing to leave TWA in 1939! The next thing that came up in this meeting from Hughes was the question, “Does Hertz own TWA?” Jack told him he was the largest stockholder with Lehman Brothers. Then apparently with no hesitation Hughes said, “Why don’t we buy TWA, I’ve got the money”. He then instructed Frye to compile a stockholders list.

 

Why two different accountings of this meeting with HH exist is in question, but George Spaters version of what Jack Frye shared with him about this pivotal meeting with Howard Hughes is a little different. Spater is quoted as saying it was Jack Frye who insisted Hughes purchase TWA. It is said Hughes offered to buy a manufacturing company for Jack to run for him, maybe related to Hughes Tool? Jack must have rejected it because Spater reports the following response:

 

“I like the airline business” Frye retorted.

“I could by United,” Hughes offered.

“I like TWA,” Frye stated.

 

At this point Howard Hughes must have liked Jack Frye’s determination and business savvy that he told Frye to gather the list of stockholders and send it over right away. By the end of January 1939, Howard Hughes had acquired about 12% stock in TWA, the same as Hertz and Lehman Brothers combined. Frye then approached Hertz with a proxy fight. Hertz with no love for the airline business succumbed and Howard Hughes ended up with 25% of TWA stock. This is when he told Jack to do the deal for the Boeing Stratoliner.

 

As Serling states, “For better or worse, and there were to be large portions of both, Howard Robard Hughes had become part of the TWA saga – bringing with him the blessing of apparently unlimited financial resources and the curse of unlimited power”.
 

TWA in Brief

Frye, along with Charles Lindbergh and D.W. Tommy Tomlinson were a special committee to evaluate and order a modern airliner. A letter by Frye, dated August 2, 1932 was circulated to certain aircraft manufacturers with T&WA's specifications. Donald Douglas met the challenge with a revolutionary design for the prototype DC-1 and production model DC-2.

DC2 with DC3 in tow

On February 18, 1934, Frye, Edward Rickenbacker and a team of T&WA pilots flew the mail from Burbank to Newark, with three stops in the record time of 13 hours and two minutes. When the mail contracts were re-awarded to the airlines in May of 1934, Frye again made headlines when he piloted a Northrop Gamma with a load of mail across the country, with one stop in a new record (commercial) time of 11 hours 30 minutes! At the end of 1934, Jack Frye was elected president of TWA and Paul Richter VP-Operations. Later, Walter Hamilton was promoted to VP-Maintenance and Overhaul.

Jack Frye piloting the GAMMA

In January of 1936 the Air transport Association of America was formed and Jack Frye was among the original directors. Others included such well known airline presidents during the '30s as C.R. Smith, Bill Patterson, Edward Rickenbacker, Tom Braniff and Bob Six. Also in 1936, Frye was a VP with the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences.

Under Frye's leadership, TWA was an industry leader with regard to researching the problems and benefits of high-altitude flying. The DC-1 was used for a while, flown by Tommy Tomlinson. In June of 1939 the trio of "Jack, Paul and Ham" was broken when Hamilton resigned to accept an executive position with Douglas Aircraft Company.

Howard Hughes and Frye disembarking a "Connie"

Photo courtesy John Underwood collection

Jack Frye personally induced Howard Hughes to secretly purchase the majority of TWA's outstanding stock in early 1939. Although five of the Stratoliners were due for delivery in mid-1940, Hughes and Frye were negotiating with Lockheed for the proposed 300-mph Constellation. Due to the war emergency, production of the Constellations was delayed and it wasn't until early 1944 when the prototype C-69 was completed. On April 17, 1944, Hughes and Frye set a new cross-country speed record when they flew the C-69 from Burbank to Washington D.C., in six hours 58 minutes! Frye kept a separate office in Washington during the war and was a strong lobbyist on behalf of TWA.

Later after disagreements with Hughes, Frye and Richter resigned from TWA in 1947. Jack went with General Aniline and Film Corporation as president until he resigned in 1955 to form a new aircraft manufacturing company. This was tentatively known as the "Frye-Robertson Aircraft Company", based in Fort Worth, with plans to build the Frye F-1 transport. Later he would begin developing a new commuter plane called the SAFARI.

Walt Hamilton returned to TWA in early 1946, but in March of that year passed away at the age of 44. Paul Richter passed away in May of 1949 at the age of 53. In February 1959, Jack Frye was killed in an auto accident near the entrance to the Tucson Airport. He was age 54. The Three Musketeers of aviation had passed on.

On June 20, 1992, Jack Frye was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame. TWA Senior VP-Flight Operations Capt. J.G. Colpitts accepted the award on his behalf. Jack joined a very exclusive group of airline presidents who were previously honored: William Patterson, United (1976); Edward Rickenbacker, Eastern (1965); Robert Six, Continental (1980); C.R. Smith, American (1974; Juan Trippe, Pan Am (1970). They were fierce competitors back in the formative years of the nation’s major airlines.

Thanks to Mr. Ed Betts and the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) for this brief historical content of Jack Frye's story and facts.

Excerpts taken from AAHS Journal, Vol 39, Number 3,  Fall 1994, used by permission.