St. PetersburgTampa Airboat Line: World’s First Scheduled Airline Using Winged Aircraft

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On another forced landing due to engine problems, Jannus hit a submerged object and the boat hull sprang a leak. As Gay Blair White notes in The World’s First Airline, ‘This was the only case in which a passenger got his feet wet, and he would not, if he had stayed on the machine until a motor boat came out and took him off. However, as the boat had four air-tight compartments and none of these were punctured, the damage caused by the accident was trivial.’

According to Fansler, the demand for reservations remained high: ‘We had a waiting list a yard long, and not once did we have to fly without a passenger.’ In addition to the scheduled trips, about 100 charter and sightseeing flights were reported in the two Model 14 airboats. Repair costs were stated as less than $100. An estimated $12,000 in fares was taken in, but local historians believe that the freight cost of getting the planes to Florida, employee wages and gas and oil allowed only a small profit. On March 28, as the contract expiration date neared, Benoist said, ‘We have not made much money, but I believe we have proved that the airplane can be successfully used as a regular means of transportation and commercial carrier.’

The airline operated for another five weeks after the March 31 contract termination date, but passenger interest declined rapidly as the’snow birds’ (winter residents) retreated northward. On April 27, Tony and Roger Jannus, apparently bored between scheduled runs, raced each other several times over an eight-mile course. The last official airline flight was made on May 5, 1914.

The original aircraft, No. 43, was sold to Byrd M. Latham, who took it to Conneaut Lake, Pa., to provide sightseeing flights. The plane crashed in July 1914 with a 250-pound passenger aboard. Both men were thrown into the water, and the airboat was nearly destroyed. Latham salvaged the radiator and engine and built another airboat ,which he named Florida. It was returned to St. Petersburg and placed in storage. Later, with Tony Jannus piloting, it crashed when a wing fell off. Only the engine was salvaged, and it was placed in a second Florida and test-flown by J.D. Smith.

Smith and Roger Jannus took No. 45 to San Diego in December 1914, where it crashed on February 15, 1915, with Smith piloting. The passenger escaped injury, but Smith lost seven teeth. Number 44 suffered a broken wing and remained at St. Petersburg until 1915, when it was repaired by Smith. The plane later crashed and was destroyed with Tony Jannus at the controls.

The two Florida cities are proud of their aviation ‘first’ and have reminded the aviation community about it each year since 1964. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic flight, the St. Petersburg and Tampa chambers of commerce established the Tony Jannus Award. The award is given annually on Tony Jannus Day to an individual ‘who has contributed to the growth and improvement of the scheduled airline industry.’

The first recipient was U.S. Senator A.S. ‘Mike’ Monroney (D-Okla.), who sponsored progressive federal aviation legislation. Other recipients include Jimmy Doolittle, Juan Trippe, Eddie Rickenbacker, C.R. Smith and Donald W. Douglas. Recent winners were Herbert D. Kelleher of Southwest Airlines; Alan Boyd, former secretary of transportation; and Martin Schroder, founder of MartinAir.

A flying replica of the 1914 Model 14, No. 43, was constructed by George Hayes, Russell St. Arnold and 28 other members of the Florida Aviation Historical Society. The replica was piloted on its first and all subsequent flights by Edward C. Hoffman. The initial flight was made on October 9, 1983. About 30 to 40 more short flights were made to ‘work out engine and chain problems, as well as weight and balance questions,’ according to Hoffman. A flight from Lake Tarpon to St. Petersburg was made just before Christmas 1983.

Tags: Aircraft, Aviation History, Flight Technology

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