Akron's trapeze required a training system as well as a specialized combat aircraft. Lieutenants D. Ward Harrigan and Howard L. Young used Consolidated N2Y trainers to practice docking with the moving airship off New Jersey. A subsequent flight carried members of the House Committee on Naval Affairs and demonstrated the recovery system to the people who influenced naval funding. The maneuver worked, and pilots considered it manageable, although the class's later accidents gave opponents a powerful argument against continued investment.
Notable Point · 2:16:08-2:21:17
Training pilots and demonstrating the trapeze to Congress
N2Y trainers taught pilots to dock with Akron, while a May 1932 demonstration showed admirals and members of Congress that repeated in-flight recovery worked.