After joining the United States Army Air Corps in 1927, he met Russell Boardman at a "Wall of Death" motorcycle event in Revere.
Deciding that Boardman would make a good co-pilot, the two teamed up and began to pursue a dream of breaking a world record.
Polando and Russell Boardman took off from Floyd Bennett Field in the aircraft Cape Cod.The plane was a Bellanca Special J6 monoplane.
Eighteen minutes later, Clyde Edward Pangborn and Hugh Herndon Jr. took off from Floyd Bennett in an unsuccessful attempt to circumnavigate the world.
In 1981, on the 50th anniversary of their record flight, Barnstable Municipal Airport added Boardman-Polando Field to its name to recognize their accomplishment.