Eddie Andreini Sr: Airfield renamed for beloved pilot

A crowd gathers at the Half Moon Bay Airport for the unveiling of a new sign honoring the late Eddie Andreini Sr. 

Edward August Andreini 

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Eddie Andreini kept his prized vintage aircraft in a hangar at Half Moon Bay Airport.

A sun-filled sky burned through the morning’s fog cover just in time for a special sign unveiling at the Half Moon Bay Airport on Saturday afternoon.

Hundreds of people gathered on the lawn in front of 3-Zero Cafe in honor of Eddie Andreini Sr., a beloved aerobatic pilot and Coastside businessman who died while performing aerial stunts during a show in 2014.

“He was obviously an icon on the Coastside,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley before giving an official speech that preceded the unveiling.

Horsley admitted that the process took longer than anticipated. He said county staff initially believed that it would be necessary to check in with the Federal Aviation Administration, however, in the end all that was required was a coastal development permit.

Eddie Andreini, Jr., also took the microphone before the sign’s unveiling. He spoke lovingly about his father whom he also referred to as his best friend and business partner.

The idea for the sign came from the younger Andreini’s wife Sandra who initially kept the project a surprise from her husband. When there were cars parked outside the house that her husband didn’t recognize one morning, his wife made up a story that the gathering was related to the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastside. She is the president of the nonprofit’s board of directors.

Sandra Andreini said after the unveiling that she knew she wanted to do something to commemorate her father-in-law. She was initially looking into parks and benches, but they didn’t seem to be quite the right fit.

“Then the airport came up and we said, ‘Duh,’” she said. “It was his home away from home.”

After the unveiling, Linda Andreini, the wife of the late pilot, said she felt her husband’s presence at the event.

“I’m sure he’s looking down on all of us,” she said, adding that he was likely drinking beer up there with his friends.

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