Milo Garrett Burcham was an American aviator

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

. He worked as a stunt pilot

Stunt performer

A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...

, airshow pilot, and test pilot

Test pilot

A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....

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Burcham was born in Cadiz

Cadiz, Indiana

Cadiz is a town in Harrison Township, Henry County, Indiana, United States. The population was 150 at the 2010 census. It was named after the Spanish city Cádiz.-Geography:Cadiz is located at ....

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, and grew up in Whittier, California

Whittier, California

Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...

 in the eastern Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 basin. Burcham sold burglar alarm

Burglar alarm

Burglar , alarms are systems designed to detect unauthorized entry into a building or area. They consist of an array of sensors, a control panel and alerting system, and interconnections...

s of his own design to finance flying lessons from the O'Donnell School of Aviation in Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

, where he became chief instructor. In 1933, Burcham and Lt. Tito Falconi of the Italian Air Service competed in setting inverted flight endurance records. Burcham's flight of 4 h 5 min 22 s that December was not broken until July 24, 1991 when U.S. airshow pilot Joanne Osterud set a new world's record of 4 h 38 min 10 s. In 1936, Burcham flew his Boeing 100

Boeing P-12

The Boeing P-12 or F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps and United States Navy.-Design and development:...

 to the World's Aerobatic Championship at the National Air Races in Los Angeles.

In 1941, Burcham joined Lockheed

Lockheed Corporation

The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...

 as a production test pilot and spent a year as chief pilot of Lockheed's operations in England. He became chief engineering test pilot a few years later, and in that capacity was served as copilot on the first flight of the Constellation

Lockheed Constellation

The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...

 on January 8, 1943. On January 9, 1944, he turned the first flight of Lulu-Belle, the XP-80

P-80 Shooting Star

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces. Designed in 1943 as a response to the German Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter, and delivered in just 143 days from the start of the design process, production models were flying but...

 prototype, into a thrilling low-level airshow before a crowd of military and civilian VIPs at Muroc Army Air Base (now Edwards AFB).

On October 20, 1944 Burcham was killed in the flame-out on take-off of the engine of third production prototype YP-80 from Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, California

Burbank, California

Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....

. Burcham is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California

Glendale, California

Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...

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