Lloyd W. Bertaud

Biography

Records and awards

• Bertaud flew air mail routes along the famous "Hells Stretch" between Cleveland and Hadley Field.
• Pulitzer Race, Omaha, Nebraska – In 1921, Bertaud flew a 400 hp Ansando Curtiss A-1 Balilla against Bert Acosta, placing fourth.
• Kansas City Derby, Kansas City, Kansas – In November 1921, Bretaud won the American Legion Aerial Derby over a 140-mile course in 1 hour.
• Endurance record, Roosevelt Field – In January 1922, Bertaud and Edward Stinson won the Aviation medal of merit of the Aero Club of America for their 27-hour world endurance record flown during a snowstorm in the Larsen JL-6 on December 30, 1921. The aircraft flew 2500 miles, also breaking the French-held world's record for distance.
• Orteig Prize - Charles A. Levine, owner of Columbia Aircraft Corp, and the sole Wright-Bellanca WB-2 sought after by pilot Charles Lindbergh, bumped Bertaud from his copilot position on an attempt at the Orteig Prize. Bertaud was promised a settlement to his family if he and his co-pilot Clarence D. Chamberlin crashed, and the prize money if they completed the flight, but Levine refused to sign the document. Bertaud first objected, then later offered to purchase the Columbia for himself. Bertaud, filed an injunction, and stalled the flight. Lindbergh took off winning the prize. Levine fired Bertaud, and, two weeks later, had Chamberlin fly him to Germany as the first transatlantic passenger. They landed in Eisleben, and breaking Lindbergh's distance mark by 295 miles. Following the flight, Bertaud attempted to have Bellanca, the designer of the Columbia, build a transatlantic plane for a non-stop attempt on Rome in spite of Levine. The aircraft could not be built in a timely manner. Instead, an agreement was made with Phillip Payne, editor of the William Randolph Hearst paper the Daily Mirror, for a Fokker VIIA aircraft, and a spare seat for Payne, in exchange for the publicity rights.

  Legacy