# John Polando

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**John Polando** (1901–1985) was an early American aviation pioneer who, along with [Russell Boardman](/source/Russell_Boardman), flew from [Floyd Bennett Field](/source/Floyd_Bennett_Field) to [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul) in 1931 to set an [aviation record](/source/Aviation_record) for the longest continuous distance flown without refueling. Following this achievement, he was an officer in [World War II](/source/World_War_II).

## Biography

### Early life

Born in 1901 in [Lynn, Massachusetts](/source/Lynn,_Massachusetts), Polando learned to fly in 1918. After joining the [United States Army Air Corps](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Corps) in 1927, he met [Russell Boardman](/source/Russell_Boardman) at a "Wall of Death" [motorcycle](/source/Motorcycle) event in [Revere](/source/Revere,_Massachusetts). Deciding that Boardman would make a good co-pilot, the two teamed up and began to pursue a dream of breaking a world record.[1]

### Record attempt

The two men trained at [Hyannis Airport](/source/Hyannis_Airport) in preparation for their trip to [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul).[2] While it was originally planned for them to fly to [Teheran](/source/Tehran), and [Rome](/source/Rome) and [Moscow](/source/Moscow), were considered it was determined that Istanbul would be easier than Teheran as the distance was shorter, and that flying to Rome or Moscow were not far enough to beat the record..

The record breaking flight took place between July 28 and 30, 1931. Polando and [Russell Boardman](/source/Russell_Boardman) took off from [Floyd Bennett Field](/source/Floyd_Bennett_Field) in the aircraft *[Cape Cod](/source/Cape_Cod_(aircraft))*.The plane was a Bellanca Special J6 monoplane. Eighteen minutes later, [Clyde Edward Pangborn](/source/Clyde_Edward_Pangborn) and Hugh Herndon Jr. took off from Floyd Bennett in an unsuccessful attempt to circumnavigate the world.[3][4] Boardman and Polando then flew over [Newfoundland](/source/Newfoundland) and dropped the [New York Times](/source/New_York_Times) at lighthouses in the province. Along the way, they also flew over [Ireland](/source/Ireland), [Paris](/source/Paris), and [Munich](/source/Munich). They also circled the [Swiss Alps](/source/Swiss_Alps) at night to avoid crashing into them.[1]

The distance of 5,011.8 miles (8,065.7 km), over a total of forty nine hours and twenty minutes established 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.[2][5][6][7]

### Death and legacy

Polando died in 1985 as a result of injuries sustained in an aircraft accident. In 1981, on the 50th anniversary of their record flight, [Barnstable Municipal Airport](/source/Barnstable_Municipal_Airport) added **Boardman-Polando Field** to its name to recognize their accomplishment.[2]

## References

1. Roscoe, Lee (5 August 2011). ["When 'Cape Cod' flew to Istanbul"](http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/article/20110805/NEWS/308059978). *[The Barnstable Patriot](/source/The_Barnstable_Patriot)*. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

1. Kline, Stuard (17 May 2001). ["John Polando"](http://www.earlyaviators.com/epolando.htm). *www.earlyaviators.com*. Retrieved 18 April 2016.

1. ["Moscow and Istanbul Are Flight Goals"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19310728&id=p7VQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MyIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5760,3517740&hl=en). *[The Milwaukee Journal](/source/The_Milwaukee_Journal)*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). 28 July 1931. Retrieved 21 April 2016.[dead link]

1. ["'Herndon v. Liberty"](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745588,00.htm). *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))*. 22 May 1933. Retrieved April 28, 2008.[dead link]

1. ["'Cape Cod's' Success Climaxes 5 Years \[of\] Bellanca Records"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2293&dat=19310802&id=pM4mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OgIGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3141,5940038). *The Sunday Morning Star, Wilmington, DE*. August 2, 1931. Retrieved September 4, 2013.

1. Polando, Johnnie (2000). [*Wings Over Istanbul: The Life and Flights of a Pioneer Aviator*](https://archive.org/details/wingsoveristanbu00pola). Portsmouth, NH: P.E. Randall Publisher. ISBN 0914339842.

1. Frattasio, Marc (2013). [*NAS Squantum: The First Naval Air Reserve Base*](https://books.google.com/books?id=QsQjBgAAQBAJ). Lulu.com. ISBN 9781304662491.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Polando](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Polando) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Polando?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.