St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line: The World’s First Airline, Part 4

Several newspapers from other cities around Florida made some noises questioning the safety of the aircraft and the Airboat Line when service was begun in St. Petersburg / Tampa.

The Jacksonville News reported that "St. Petersburg papers might secure an obituary sketch of all aeroplane passengers at the same time they take the manifests. It might save some time." No passengers of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat line were ever injured on a flight, although one passenger was taken off (unhurt) onto a motorboat after the airboat struck a submerged object and received hull damage upon landing. The plane was quickly repaired and returned to service.

Across town, the Jacksonville Metropolis editorialized: "St. Petersburg is now a city of pelicans, porpoises & planes."

The Tampa Tribune noted that the first flight had been made "without mishap" and gave the event a banner headline in its January 2 edition--"The First Commercial Air Ship Line Inaugurated." The article stated: "When the airboat arrived yesterday morning, a crowd of 2,000 was waiting near the temporary landing [site] , another 1,000 saw what they could from the Lafayette Street bridge, and 500 more were across the river. When the dock was reached, an enthusiastic cheer went up, and there was a clapping and the waving of hats and handkerchiefs. A moment later, there was a rush down the three narrow planks connecting the platform with the shore; men, women and children [were] fighting to get down to the boat and its two occupants."

The Estero Eagle asked, "Is Tampa such a tough and wicked old city that its residents are preparing to fly from it?"

The Tampa Tribune responded to the Eagle question: "All airboat passengers have been from St. Petersburg and are apparently eager to get to Tampa."

The St. Petersburg Independent, defending itself against the Tampa slur, replied: "It is noticeable that the time from Tampa is always faster than the time to Tampa. Once having reached Tampa, no matter how anxious to get there, the passengers are always in a hurry to get away."

Lasting Legacy

The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line operated flights between St. Petersburg and Tampa for just over four months. While the Airboat Line was not very profitable during the months it operated, it didn't lose money, either. This small company demonstrated to the world that air transportation could be a viable business. Fansler stated in a speech the day of the initial flight: "What was impossible yesterday is an accomplishment today, while tomorrow heralds the unbelievable". The company also proved that aircraft with good maintenance and competent pilots could provide safe public transportation.

Today, a 22-minute flight from St. Petersburg to the famous Cigar City would seem a long time, but the alternatives in 1914 were a 2 1/2-hour trip by steamship to circumnavigate the bay area, or 12 hours by train. There is no reliable estimate of the time it would have taken by automobile in those days of hand-cranked engines, solid rubber tires and unpaved roads.

In addition to starting the airline, Fansler founded a training school for pilots. Airline training of employees remains a part of commercial aviation to this day. Three Benoist airboats were shipped from the St. Louis factory for both purposes. One was a Model 13; the other two were Model 14s: the Model 13 was operated by the school for instruction and the 14s used for passenger transport. A large, open-ended hangar was also planned.

In 1964 on the 50th anniversary of the inaugural flight of the Airboat Line, the Tampa and St. Petersburg Chambers of Commerce established the Tony Jannus Award. The award is presented annually to individuals who "have contributed to the growth and improvement of the scheduled airline industry." The first award in 1964 was presented to U.S. Senator A.S. "Mike" Maroney, a leading legislator in the development of commercial aviation. Other recipients include Herb Kellecher (Southwest Airlines), Jimmy Doolittle, Juan Trippe, Eddie Rickenbacker, C.R. Smith, Donald W. Douglas, and Alan Boyd, former secretary of transportation.

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 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.

The construction of the replica had not been easy. No original drawings could be found so new plans were made from photographs, newspaper clippings, and stories that appeared in articles in old issues of Aero & Hydro magazine. A Chevrolet straight 6-cylinder engine was substituted for the original Roberts power plant. No Roberts engine could be located.

At 10 a.m. on New Year's Day 1984, Hoffman took to the air to commemorate the Jannus flight of 70 years before. The replica was flown about seven times more at Tarpon Springs to make an Imax film that was then shown at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The replica's total flying time was six hours, 40 minutes and it never flew again. The Chevrolet engine was then replaced with a light wooden replica of the original Roberts for display purposes.

The birthplace of scheduled air transportation is memorialized by a plaque dedicated on October 12, 1957, by Pinellas County authorities and reads: "Here, in this county, Thomas W. Benoist, pioneer airplane builder, first proved to the world that the amazing new invention, the flying machine, could be put to work for the benefit of mankind."

(Images from the collections of either Björn Larsson or David Zekria and found at Airline Timetable Images)