CHERAW - A Cheraw native and pioneering aviator who predicted the attack on Pearl Harbor is profiled in the spring issue of Sandlapper, The Magazine of South Carolina.

In "Seizing Control of the Skies," Cheraw historian James Beales examines the remarkable life of Patrick N.L. Bellinger. Born in 1885, Bellinger attended the U.S. Naval Academy and became a pilot in 1914. A string of honors followed, including setting a world altitude record when he flew 10,000 feet high in 1917, and planning and participating in a transatlantic flight attempt in 1919. Though Charles Lindbergh actually completed a transatlantic flight seven years later, Bellinger was awarded the Navy Cross for trying. Bad weather forced him and his crew to ditch at sea near the Azores, after starting in Newfoundland.

Bellinger died in 1962, a year after National Geographic published an in-depth look at his life and aviation achievements. Some of the black-and-white photos from that article accompany the three-page Sandlapper piece, which is sponsored by Carolina Bank, Cheraw Family Medicine, East Coast Truck Line Inc., Michael & Associates Carolina, and Lifestyles Real Estate.

Sandlapper is a quarterly magazine about South Carolina's people, places, history, and culture. Locally, it's available at Merle Norman in Cheraw.

Another Chesterfield County subject, Beth's Country Cooking in Pageland, appears in the spring issue. Sandlapper's restaurant writer Tim Driggers reports on the popular breakfast and lunch place in his "Stop Where The Parking Lot's Full" column. "After piling my plate about a foot high with fried chicken, a dab of meatloaf, a bite of lasagna and every vegetable grown in Chesterfield County, I grabbed a seat with a group at a large table in the middle of the dining room," Driggers writes. "We were strangers for all of about 10 seconds. After that, it seemed I was dining with old friends."

More than a dozen topics are presented in the spring issue. Included are features about South Carolina barbeque, Beaufort's new public art project, historic Kershaw, moviemaking, the College of Charleston's nationally renowned sailing team, the humanitarian work done by Hootie and the Blowfish, and recipes for strawberries.