Eddie J. Martin; Father of Orange County Aviation

Eddie J. Martin, founder of Martin Aviation Inc. and the man regarded as the father of aviation in Orange County, died Tuesday at age 88.

Martin died about 9:10 p.m. Tuesday after being admitted to the St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange on Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Martin Aviation is Orange County’s oldest and largest fixed-base general aviation operator.

On Martin’s 87th birthday in 1988, the Orange County supervisors voted unanimously to name the terminal at the county-operated John Wayne Airport the Eddie J. Martin Terminal.

Martin, with his brother, Johnny, was granted the original lease in 1923 to operate an airfield that became known informally as Eddie Martin Airport. It evolved into today’s busy county-operated facility.

“Had he not seen aviation as a business, rather than just fun, there may not have been much aviation history in Orange County,” Vi Smith, author of “From Jennies to Jets,” an account of the county’s aviation history, said in a 1988 interview.

Martin was fond of regaling visitors with stories of his early flying career when he would walk on the wings of biplanes to attract customers for his air ride business. Martin would charge visitors to the airfield $2 to $5 for a ride.

Martin, whose original pilot’s license was signed by Orville Wright, began his aviation career with a Curtiss JN-4D Jenny purchased with $50 he won when he took second place in an American Legion automobile race in 1923.