• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Florida's Official Aviation Museum

  • Home
  • About
    • Team
    • History & Heritage
    • Aviation Hall of Fame
  • News
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Tickets
    • Exhibits
  • Blog
  • Support the Museum
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Blog / Aircraft / Unknowing Pioneers and the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line

Unknowing Pioneers and the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line

December 13, 2021

Just over a decade after Wright Brother’s first flight at Kittyhawk, North Carolina, aviation had yet to find practical use. Barnstormers traveled the countryside in search of passengers but the airplane and allure of the adventurous goggled pilots who flew them were still a mere novelty to the public. But as Antony H. Jannus and Abram C. Phiel boarded the flying boat Lark of Duluth on 1 January 1914, they were about to change the world.

Taking off in the Benoist Model XIV airboat from the central yacht basin, Jannus skimmed the surface of the waves before the keel of the boat leapt from the surface of the water. During the flight, Jannus never left ground-effect and even landed once to tune the seventy-five horsepower Roberts engine that powered the craft. They cruised at a relatively quick sixty-four miles per hour, totaling twenty-three minutes of flight time and landing on the western shore of the Hillsborough River in Tampa near the Tampa Electric power plant.

Originally conceived by marine engine salesman Percival E. Fansler and St. Louis aircraft manufacturer Thomas Benoist in December of 1913, the airboat line’s formal contract was signed on the 10th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s December 17th Kitty Hawk flight. Fansler drummed up support from twelve local business owners and the necessary capital which was then matched by the city as a subsidy. The airplane shaved the time required to go around the bay by nearly 12 hours, bringing new efficiency to cross-bay travel. The maiden flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was watched by over 3,000 excited onlookers from the Municipal Recreation pier. For most of the spectators, this would be their first glimpse of aviation; the curiosity was palpable as they congregated at the waterfront to see former mayor Abe Phiel become the world’s first paying airline passenger.

Phiel had won an auction for the honor of being the world’s first airline passenger, and proceeds from the $400 ($11,064 adjusted for inflation 2021) ticket were used in part to install two harbor lights in the yacht basin. Two weeks later on January 13th, one of the airline’s Benoists also became the world’s first air cargo flight when a Swift & Co. butcher in Tampa ordered for delivery a fifty-pound shipment of choice deli meats, “one case of premium hams and bacon [on the morning boat]” and “Five cases of ham to follow on the evening boat.”

The line fulfilled its contract which stipulated two flights a day, six days a week for three months. Outside of the scheduled service, Jannus also provided chartered flights for local businesses, such as the Hotel Belleview near Clearwater. The airboat line folded soon thereafter as the subsidy ran out as otherwise, the line was not profitable. Scheduled aviation would not grace south St. Petersburg’s waterfront again until the opening of Albert Whitted Airport in the summer of 1929.

Be sure to visit the Florida Air Museum’s exhibit of Florida: The Cradle of Commerical Aviation to see more mentions of the Benoist. Between the 1914 flight of the Benoist in St. Petersburg, to the founding of Pan American in Key West, Florida has always been on the forefront of Commercial Aviation history.

Submitted by Glenn Gallagher


Copyright 2020 Aerospace Center for Excellence

Footer

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up for the Touch 'n Go newsletter and stay informed about things happening at Florida Air Museum, Aerospace Center for Excellence, & SUN 'n FUN.

Sign Up Now

ABOUT ACE

Florida Air Museum is a part of Aerospace Center for Excellence. ACE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, community-based institution and educational resource dedicated to bringing aerospace and aviation history and science alive for people of all ages and backgrounds.

HOURS

Monday – Saturday: 10AM – 4PM

Sunday: 12PM – 4PM

The Museum occasionally closes to the public for special events. Please call ahead to confirm availability for your visit date.

CONTACT

4075 James C Ray Dr. Lakeland, FL 33811

863.904.6833

 www.floridaairmuseum.org

museum@flysnf.org

GET SOCIAL

Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On InstagramCheck Our Feed
  • Home
  • About
  • News
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Blog
  • Support the Museum
  • Contact

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Copyright 2020 Aerospace Center for Excellence

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsOK
Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT