Born in 1898 on a farm in Connecticut, Boardman flew as a stunt pilot for the Howard Hughes film Hell's Angels.
He met John Polando at a "Wall of Death" motorcycle event in Revere where Boardman was a rider.
Polando decided that Boardman would make a good co-pilot due to his aviation maintenance skills, and the two teamed up and began to pursue a dream of breaking a world record.
Eighteen minutes later, Clyde Edward Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, Jr. took off from Floyd Bennett in an unsuccessful attempt to circumnavigate the world.
[1] Boardman died on July 1, 1933, as a result of injuries sustained when his Gee Bee Model R crashed upon take-off following a fuel stop at Indianapolis.