Edwin V. Todd is fondly remembered as one of Ketchikan's most colorful commercial bush pilots. Todd's amazing ability to navigate Southeast Alaska's rugged geography in bad weather in all seasons, day or night, along with his determined personality and nonconformist lifestyle set him apart from his contemporaries to gain himself legendary status in the history of Alaska Panhandle commercial bush flying. Among his close family and good friends, he went by the nickname "Beaver". Ed Todd was born in Seattle in 1919. His parents worked in Ketchikan for the New England Fish Company, and he graduated Kayhi (Ketchikan High School) in 1938. During WWII Ed worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Alaska and was stationed at Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island during the Japanese bombing of the military base on June 3-4, 1942. He was then stationed in Fairbanks. Ed began his flying career in 1946, acquiring a Piper J-3 Cub as his first plane and then a Taylor J-2. On May 11, 1951, he flew his second Taylor J-2 Cub wheel plane, named "The Green Hornet" (N17540), 1200 miles from Marin County Airport near San Francisco up to Ketchikan where he landed on the Annette Island Airport runway. The Cub was then fitted onto a set of Edo seaplane floats for local operations. While working as a mechanic at Northern Commercial Company, he married Helen Rustanius Todd in 1956. After getting his commercial pilot rating, Ed started Todd's Air Service in 1957. After Ellis Air Lines announced it was discontinuing its single-engine small plane service, Ed bought a 4-place Piper Pacer. Two Piper Family Cruisers were added, dubbed "Tsimpsian Princess" and "Taquan Chief" (N4276H). Ed mostly did his own maintenance with assistance from a number of skilled local aircraft engine mechanics, including noted experts Sid Hosier and Kelly Adams, and pilot/mechanic Leon Snodderly, who was Todd's half-brother.

Todd's Air Service was based on the shore of the Tongass Narrows at mile 1.5 South Tongass Highway, on his mother's property where her Sunshine Grocery Store was located. He built a floating dock and small open hangar facing the water equipped with a seaplane railway pullout and dispatch office located on the upper deck. Helen Todd trained under Jack Cousins to get her private pilot license in 1960 and flew her own Super Cub (N9919D), but didn't fly commercially. Helen and her kids Jaqueline and Eric Tyson helped with running the business while Ed took on any type of charter flight request that he was able to fulfill. The family first lived at the hangar, but a new street level residence was constructed in the 1960s. Shortly afterwards, Todd's Air Service began upgrading their company aircraft to bigger Cessna 180/185 seaplanes, and hiring an extra pilot or two during the busy summer seasons. On May 13, 1965, Helen was tragically lost following a glassy water landing accident, while going to check her trap lines at a small lake over on Annette Island, which now bears her name. Despite suffering the huge personal loss, Ed Todd managed to keep his air taxi outfit going. Ed adopted a preference for painting his Cessna Skywagons into bright colorful schemes for safety and high visibility company promo. Yellow and purple was his favorite combination. Later, Ed also bought a DHC-2 Beaver (N31618), which was leased out at times.

One of Ketchikan's first female commercial pilots Dixie Jewett, flew for Todd's Air Service for 15 years, and helped him run the business. On October 15, 1978, Ed Todd died at age 59 flying his white and orange Cessna 185 (N70269) while goat hunting in a high mountain lake inside nearby Misty Fjords. The company, which was a proprietorship and never incorporated, briefly continued operations from 1978 through 1980 under Dixie Jewett and pilot Dan Hassell. Terry Wills purchased Todd's Air Service in late 1980, and in 1981 was operating two DHC-2 Beavers, and a Cessna 180 and 185. Not long after, Wills folded the company and sold the aircraft. One Beaver (N67673) was sold to Jerry Scudero to become the first Taquan Air Service DHC-2, with the other Beaver (N67685) going to an Australian owner. David Doyon bought the certificate for his successful Misty Fjords Air and Outfitting, which continues to operate at the Todd's Air Service location today.

Aircraft:
Piper J-2 and J-3 Cub, Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser, Piper PA-18 Super Cub, Piper PA-20 Pacer, Cessna 180/185, and DHC-2 Beaver.

Pilots:
Ed Todd, Cotton Odell, Tony Kielczewski, Dixie Jewett, Tom Kasanke, Bob Bullock, Terry Wills, Dan Hassell, and Jim Webster, among others.

Mechanics:
Ed Todd, Sid Hosier, Kelly Adams, Leon Snodderly, Vern Schmutzler, Russ Hoaglund, and Brian MacManus, among others.