Russell Boardman (1898–July 1, 1933) was an early American aviation pioneer who, along with

John Polando John Polando (1901–1985) was an early American aviation pioneer who, along with Russell Boardman, flew from Floyd Bennett Field to Istanbul in 1931 to set an aviation record for the longest continuous distance flown without refueling. Following ...

, flew from

Floyd Bennett Field Floyd Bennett Field is an airfield in the Marine Park neighborhood of southeast Brooklyn in New York City, along the shore of Jamaica Bay. The airport originally hosted commercial and general aviation traffic before being used as a naval air ...

Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 1931 to set an aviation record for the longest continuous distance flown without refueling. Before this achievement, he was also a stunt pilot for the film Hell's Angels.

Biography

Early life

Born in 1898 on a farm in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, Boardman flew as a stunt pilot for the

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

film '' Hell's Angels''. He met

at a "Wall of Death"

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

event in Revere where Boardman was a rider. Polando decided that Boardman would make a good co-pilot due to his aviation maintenance skills, and the two teamed up and began to pursue a dream of breaking a world record.

Record attempt

The two men trained at Hyannis Airport in preparation for their trip to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. The attempt at the record took place between July 28 and 30, 1931. Boardman and

took off from

in the aircraft ''

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

''. Eighteen minutes later,

Clyde Edward Pangborn Clyde Edward Pangborn ( ''c''. October 28, 1895 – March 29, 1958), nicknamed "Upside-Down Pangborn", was an American aviator and barnstormer who performed aerial stunts in the 1920s for the Gates Flying Circus. He was its half-owner, chief pi ...

and Hugh Herndon, Jr. took off from Floyd Bennett in an unsuccessful attempt to circumnavigate the world. Boardman and Polando then flew over

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and dropped the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

at lighthouses in the province. Along the way, they also flew over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. They also circled the

Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...

at night to avoid crashing into them. While it was originally planned for them to fly to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, it was determined that Istanbul would be easier, because it would allow for them to still break the record. The distance of , over a total of forty nine hours and twenty minutes helped to establish a distance record, which was the first known non-stop flight whose distance surpassed either English (5,000 mi) or metric (8,000 km) mark. Following the landing of their aircraft in Istanbul, they were greeted with great fanfare.

Death and legacy

Boardman died on July 1, 1933, as a result of injuries sustained when his

Gee Bee Model R The Gee Bee Model R Super Sportster was a special-purpose racing aircraft made by Granville Brothers Aircraft of Springfield, Massachusetts at the now-abandoned Springfield Airport. ''Gee Bee'' stands for Granville Brothers. Design and deve ...

crashed upon take-off following a fuel stop at Indianapolis. At the time of the crash, he was competing for the

Bendix Trophy The Bendix Trophy is a U.S. air racing, aeronautical racing trophy. The transcontinental, point-to-point race, sponsored by industrialist Vincent Hugo Bendix, Vincent Bendix founder of Bendix Corporation, began in 1931 as part of the National Ai ...

. In 1981, the airfield at

Barnstable Municipal Airport Cape Cod Gateway Airport , also known as Boardman/Polando Field and formerly known as Barnstable Municipal Airport, is a public airport located on Cape Cod, north of the central business district of Hyannis, in Barnstable County, Massachusetts ...

was renamed Boardman/Polando Field to recognize their accomplishment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boardman, Russell 1898 births 1932 deaths Flight distance record holders Aviators from Connecticut American aviation record holders