Birdie Viola Draper (1916–2005) was a

parachutist Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

and

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

who made her first jump on June 6, 1937."My First Jump" Memoir by Birdie Draper, Birdie Draper Collection, The San Diego Air and Space Museum. She traveled around the country as a member of the Thrill Day Performers and became known as the "Queen of the Daredevils."

Early life

Draper was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in 1916. In 1937 at the age of 20, Draper began her training as a parachutist with Stub Chrissinger, an instructor for Hincks flying service and one of two licensed

parachute rigger A parachute rigger is a person who is trained or licensed to pack, maintain or repair parachutes. A rigger is required to understand fabrics, hardware, webbing, regulations, sewing, packing, and other aspects related to the building, packing, repai ...

s in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Career

After her training, Draper joined the stunt group Thrill Day Performers traveling to

state fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...

s. She was paired up with Captain F. F. "Bowser" Frakes who was best known for his daring

plane Plane most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface * Plane (mathematics), generalizations of a geometrical plane Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane ...

crashing stunts and was known as the "Monarch of the Air." Draper was recognized for crashing through sixteen sticks of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

with her

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

, as well as solid masonry walls, a stunt for which she received $42.50.Contract between Birdie Draper and Bill Breitenstein in the Birdie Draper Collection at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. By 1940, Draper completed thirty-five

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

jumps.Parachute log of Birdie Draper, housed in the Birdie Draper Collection at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. She retired in 1941 as a daredevil once she received her license as a parachute rigger from the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business ...

. Shortly afterwards she took a position as a rigger for

Ryan Aeronautical Company The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and tec ...

. Draper married George Griffin, a local attorney, and retired from Ryan Aeronautical Company in 1945. Draper died on November 1, 2005.

References

External links

* https://sandiegoairandspace.org/collection/item/birdie-draper-collection Birdie Draper Collection at the San Diego Air and Space Museum * https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/albums/72157650330477326 Images from the Birdie Draper Collection on Flickr. {{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Birdie American stunt performers 1916 births 2005 deaths