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Edward Antoine Bellande

"All of a sudden we had a fire on our hands and there were seven passengers in the cabin, and I don't know how many sacks of airmail.  I sure was in a fix."
  With exceptional skill, Edward Bellande landed his burning plane at Bakersfield, California, removed his passengers, and stared in disbelief as flames consumed nearly two decades of his log books, barnstorming mementos, and aviation memorabilia he was lending to a friend.  He had never so much as split a prop before the February 10, 1933, accident.  Never--as a test pilot for Curtiss in 1915, as a skywriter and crop duster following his Navy service as an instructor, as a test pilot for the famed Lockheed Vega--never in checking out Wiley Post in "Winnie Mae," or piloting the ships of Maddox Air Lines, a carrier he helped organize.  And that was that.
  On October 29, 1935, he said "thank you" to President Roosevelt and Postmaster-General Farley in FDR's office.  Eddie and six other airmail pilots were awarded special Congressional Medals, honoring their extraordinary achievement and valor while in public service.
  Edward Bellande's hallmark is on Northrop Aircraft Company--he was one of the original organizers and board members, and on The Garrett Corporation.  He first joined Garrett in 1943 and was named chairman of the board in 1963, a post he held until retirement in 1968.

[[image - propeller]]

  Edward Antoine Bellande: born Ocean Springs, Mississippi, December 19, 1897.


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[[photo - Edward Bellande in plane, with signature]]

[[image - captioned "LOCKHEED VEGA MONOPLANE", showing 3 profiles of the plane]]
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[[caption]]
Edward Bellande at the time of his solo, December 3, 1916, in a page from his Aero Club of America certification book (27).  Test pilot Bellande during Vega's first flight, July 4, 1927 (29), with aircraft profiles (28).
[[/caption]]


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[[photo - Edward Bellande standing in front of Vega plane being filmed by man with camera on right]]


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