Boland brothers

Frank E. Boland (c1880-1913), James Paul Boland (1882-1964) and Joseph John Boland (c1880-c1970) were early aircraft designers from Rahway, New Jersey who started the Boland Airplane and Motor Company. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Boland brothers |url= |quote=Frank E. Boland of Rahway is the man. He has already built an aeroplane and hopes to make his first flight within The next three weeks. ... |publisher=Syracuse Herald |date=September 27, 1908 |accessdate=2007-06-21 ] [ Frank E. Boland (c1880-1912), James Paul Boland (1882-1964) was born on August 20, 1882 and Joseph John Boland (1879-c1970) was born on 28 May, 1879 according to the World War I draft. There was a John Andrew Boland, born on 8 August 1878 who worked at their garage] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Eleanor Bartels a Bride. Married in Church at Rahway, New Jersey, to Joseph A. Kenna |url= |quote=Miss Eleanor M. Bartels, niece of James P. Boland and Miss Helen F. Boland of this place, was married to Joseph A. Kenna, son of Mrs. Katherine Kenna, also of this city, in St. Mary's Catholic Church here yesterday.
publisher=New York Times |date=November 21, 1938, Monday |accessdate=2007-06-21 ]

They had set records for bicycle racing in 1898. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Bicycle Meet at Plainfield. Fast Time Made at the Riverdale Field Club's Races. |url= |quote=Plainfield, New Jersey; September 24, 1898. A drizzling rain set in this afternoon when the second amateur race meet of the Riverdale Field Club at the Crescent Oval was half concluded, but despite that fact the races were continued and run off according to the programme. The track was in poor shape, but the riders did well, and made close finishes in every event.
publisher=New York Times |date=September 25, 1898, Wednesday |accessdate=2007-06-21 ] Frank Boland was killed in on January 3, 1913 during an exhibition flight in Trinidad. [cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/pipeline/dropzone/5171/boland.html |title=Accidente Aéreo de Frank Boland |accessdate=2007-02-14 |format= |work= ] They worked with tailless aircraft that were early predecessors of flying wings. A scale model of their plane is in the Smithsonian. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution |url= |quote=Boland, Joseph, Frederick, Maryland: A scale model, constructed by himself, of the Boland Tailless Pusher airplane developed by him and his brothers at Rahway, New Jersey ... |publisher=Smithsonian |date=1965 |accessdate=2007-06-21 ]

In 1904, Frank and Joseph, started a business servicing bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles in Rahway. [cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Aerial Age |year=1912 |publisher=Aero Club of Illinois |quote=The old Boland aircraft, crude as it was, has a distinct place in the progressive ... In 1908 Frank Roland of Rahway, New Jersey built a tailless airplane that flew ... |isbn= ]

In 1914 the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company of Avondale, Pennsylvania, took over the manufacturing rights of all Boland airplanes and engines. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Joseph Borland, 85, Aviation Pioneer |url= |quote= |publisher=New York Times |date=September 13, 1964, Sunday |accessdate=2007-06-21 ]

E.T. Wooldridge writes: "The Boland brothers were a relatively small, but extraordinary, part of early aviation history in the United States. Frank supplied the enthusiasm, ingenuity, and self-taught flying ability; Joseph provided the mechanical genius to transform ideas into some tangible, workable form; and James had the business sense so often lacking in ventures of that sort." cite web |url=http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/flying%20wings/Early%20Flying%20Wings.htm |title=History of the Flying Wing |accessdate=2007-07-14 |format= |work= ] James died in 1964 in Frederick, Maryland.

Memorials to the Boland brothers

During the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 contest years, The Boland Brothers Team composed of a great-grand-nephew and great-great-grandnephew of the Boland brothers competed in the National Association of Rocketry at the regional and national levels, setting no fewer than two US model rocket performance records, cite web | url=http://www.nar.org/NARrecords.shtml|title="US Rocketry Records"|accessdate=2008-03-10] and finishing in third place overall for the 1998-1999 season. cite web | url=http://mysite.verizon.net/wjvincent/nercb/19981999/usptlast.txt | title = Final 1998-1999 NAR points list | accessdate = 2008-03-10]

ee also

*Wright brothers
*Wittemann brothers

References