St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line
Encyclopedia
The airline provided service between St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
and neighboring Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
.
Overview
P.T. Fansler brought in Tom Benoist to start a service using his new airboats to create a service to connect the two cities that were a day's travel apart in 1913. A 3 month contract was signed with the St.Petersburg board of trade on the 10th anniversary of the Kitty Hawk flight on 17 December 1913, subsidizing 50% of the costs for starting the airline. The hangars promised for the airline were not completed, and the freight train holding the green and yellow "Lark of Duluth" was unaccounted for several days leading up to the launch date.On January 1, 1914 the SPT Airboat Line incorporated into the world's first scheduled winged airline service. That same day, Antony H. Jannus
Tony Jannus
Antony Habersack Jannus, more familiarly known as Tony Jannus , was an early American pilot whose aerial exploits were widely publicized in aviation's pre-World War I period. He flew the first airplane from which a parachute jump was made, in 1912. Jannus was also the first airline pilot, having...
piloted the airline's Benoist Type XIV
Benoist XIV
-References:* * * * Servis, Richard. "". Non Fiction Reader Magazine* from St Petersburg Museum of History executive director Will Michaels printed in the St Petersburg Times 2 February 2004.* -External links:* *...
on its maiden
Maiden voyage
The maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
flight between St. Petersburg and Tampa. Due to widespread media coverage by the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
, there were reportedly over 3,000 spectators at a parade accompanied by an Italian band at the departure point. An auction was then conducted for the first round-trip ticket. It was won with a final bid of $400 by the former mayor of St. Petersburg, Abraham C. Pheil. Pheil then boarded the wooden, open-air craft for the 22-minute flight that rarely exceeded an altitude of 5 feet above the water of Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
. Two additional two passenger Benoist air boats were added to the fleet soon after. Ticket prices were $10 per flight. The first air-cargo was a picture of the first flight taken the previous day delivered to St. Petersburg. During operation the federal government decided that the vehicle and pilot should be licensed while performing commerce. Jannus applied for and evenutally become the first federally licensed pilot in the United States. The airline continued to make flights until May 5, 1914, five weeks after contract termination. From start to finish, the airline covered over 7,000 miles, 172 flights, and 1,205 passengers.