The world's first commercial airline - Space.com
On Jan. 1, 1914, the world's first scheduled passenger airline service took off from St. Petersburg, FL and landed at its destination in Tampa, FL.
Tampapix.com
Percival Elliott Fansler, a Florida sales representative for a manufacturer of diesel engines for boats, became fascinated with Benoist's progress in designing aircraft that could take off and land in the water. The two men started corresponding, and eventually Fansler proposed "a real commercial line from somewhere to somewhere else," according to <anchor>Tampapix.com</anchor>, a web-based amateur historical archive about Tampa.
Tony Jannus
Tony Jannus

The 100 Year Anniversary of Scheduled
Passenger Airline Service

Jan. 1, 2014

![](Jannus-plane-tampa-bay-time.jpg)

[Read about the planned reenactment of Tony Jannus' historic flight by \
Kermit Weeks, in the Tampa Bay Times](http://www.tampabay.com/topics/specials/centennial-jannus-first-commercial-flight.page)

Kermit Weeks plans to fly his
full scale reproduction of the original. New Year' Day, 10 a.m.,
re-enactment of Tony Jannus' flight. The plane is scheduled to take off
from the Yacht Basin in St. Petersburg and land at the seaplane basin at
Peter O. Knight Airport in Tampa.

Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Times

![](1914%20Jannus%20portrait.jpg)

**Tony Jannus, 1914** [Photo from Find A Grave](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=94996651)

**ANTONY HABERSACK JANNUS**
**(1889 - 1917)** Antony Habersack "Tony" Jannus,
a native of Washington DC, was an American test pilot and barnstormer of
Hungarian, British and American descent.  He was a youthful, magnetic
personality in aviation's early days of often forgotten daredevils and
adventurers. In his lifetime, he crossed paths with many legends of early
aviation--Glenn Curtiss, the Wright Brothers, Lincoln Beachey, Katherine
Stinson and Glenn Martin.

Even before his history-making flight
across Tampa Bay on Jan. 1, 1914, he was a popular and much sought-after figure in aviation.
He had gained fame in exhibition flying, long distance flying planes and
airboats, testing military planes and weapons, as well as piloting the
first flight for a parachute jump--all by 1913. By virtue of his technical education, he
was involved in the experimental and design aspects of aviation and
became one of the foremost designers of aircraft.  By 1913 he had become
one of the principal stockholders of Benoist Aircraft Company in St. Louis.


Jannus was always the center of attention.
His personality, good
looks, and talent as a speaker made him a highly desired individual; he often
dated movie actresses, and women idolized him, having become the epitome of the
romantic flyer.

In 1913, Tony Jannus came to St. Pete
with his brother Roger, and his mechanic, to pilot Thomas Benoist's
"Flying Boat" No. 43 into aviation history.  On January 1, 1914,
Percival Fansler's "St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line" became the world's
first scheduled passenger airline service to use heavier than air
aircraft, carrying passengers between the yacht basin in St. Pete and the
Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa.

The airline operated for four months,
during which time Jannus became the bay area's most well-known celebrity.
At age 25, he was a bachelor in demand; not wealthy, but well-off
financially.  He was handsome, with dark, brooding good looks and
twinkling eyes.  He was certainly capable of turning feminine heads.
The whole crew of the St. Pete-Tampa Airboat line, especially Tony, was
treated royally in the bay area, especially in St. Pete.  According
to Eleanor C. Reed, proprietor of the Wigwam Hotel where Jannus lived
while in the bay area, "He was so thoughtful of others, and had such a
winning personality, that he was constantly being sought after by the
girls.  He did not know sometimes which way to turn."

To avoid
confusion with his grandfather and uncle of same name, he will be referred to as Tony in the following narrative.

By 1880, Tony's grandfather, school teacher Antony H. Jannus (born in
Hungary) and grandmother Phoebe
(born in England), had settled at 366 Stoughton Street in Washington DC with
their sons Frankland (Tony's father), Anthony H., John A. and Stephen.  Frankland,
the oldest at 27, was an attorney; Stephen was an artist and Anthony and John were
students.Frankland Jannus was born in England in 1853.  Around
1884, he married Emeline Carlisle Weightman (born 1857, Washington DC).  Frankland and Emeline had sons Roger Weightman Jannus (Dec. 1886) and Antony
("Tony") Habersack Jannus (July 1889).  By 1900, the family had moved to
the village of Larchmont in Mamaroneck County, NY where they lived with
Franklin's 75-year-old mother, Phoebe.

By the time Tony was 17, he was attending a technical school back in
Washington DC, taking courses in mechanics and engineering.  In April of
1910, 20-year-old Tony lived as boarder in the home of John and May Kilgore
(John was a scientific photographer for the Smithsonian Museum.)  Tony was
soon hired by the Emerson Marine Engine Co. in Alexandria, VA.  It was around this time that Tony began
his interest in flying at College Park, Maryland.  College Park Airport's origins are firmly tied to early military aviation.
It
was the field's association with numerous creative and often renowned civilian
aviators and inventors that ensured its continued operation.  Immediately
following Wilbur Wright's attention-getting military instruction there in 1909,
several civilian aviation companies came to College Park, bringing commercial
enterprise and new technology to the airfield.

The first of these companies was the Rex Smith Aeroplane Company, established
by well-known inventor and patent attorney Rexford Smith. With an aero of his
own design, Rex Smith made many noteworthy flights over the Washington area.
When the Army returned to the airfield in 1911 to establish the first Army
Aviation School, Smith was requested to move his hangar with the new Army
hangars.  With their
well-publicized flights around the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol, the
Rex Smith Aeroplane Company became the center of media activity and the focus of
the Washington social elite. They were frequently in the news for entertaining
and flying politicians and other well-connected individuals, garnering them much
support and publicity.

![](rex%20smith.jpg)

Rex Smith at the controls of one of his
planes, 1911

From [Early \
Aviators](http://earlyaviators.com/esmithrx.htm)

![](Wright%20flyer,%201909.jpg)

In November of 1910, Rex Smith looked to
the Washington DC
technical school for students to work at his company.  Only two boys out of twenty qualified.  Paul
Peck, who later became a well-known exhibition flyer, and Tony Jannus.
Jannus was sent to the airfield at College Park, Md. to install a marine engine
in a modified Curtiss-type airplane made by Frederick
Fox and Rex Smith.  Tony was instantly obsessed with learning to fly.  At
time there were no more than twenty known air chauffeurs in America, including
the Wright brothers.

A Wright Bros. plane at
College Park Airfield, 1909

[From Abandoned & Little-known Airfields](http://www.airfields-freeman.com/MD/Airfields_MD_PG_N.htm)

![](roger%20jannus%201917.jpg)**Roger Weightman Jannus, 1917** [From \
Early Aviators](http://earlyaviators.com/ejannusr.htm)

Tony Jannus began flying after receiving only cursory instructions and was soon
making flights at altitudes up to 300 feet. Jannus flew several
times from the Polo Grounds in Washington and made some air-to-ground radio
tests for the Signal Corps.  In July 1911, he traveled to St. Louis where
he was hired by Thomas Benoist (pronounced "Ben-wah")
as a flying instructor. Roger Jannus, Tony's older brother, a graduate of Lehigh
University, was also caught up in the excitement of flying. He later joined Tony
at the Benoist factory and took lessons from him.

![](Tony%20Jannus,%201914.jpg)

**Tony Jannus** [From Find a Grave](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=94996651&PIpi=64988695)

![](benoist%201910.jpg)

Tom Benoist (photo at left) was St. Louis' first
aeronautical entrepreneur, one of the area's first industrialists, and arguably
one of this country's true aviation pioneers. Benoist actively participated in
all aspects of the new and expanding world of aviation: he designed,
manufactured, and marketed airplanes and related hardware; he flew, both as an
instructor and as an exhibition flier; he ran an aerial exhibition company and
equipped and operated the world's first airline.

![](1911%20Curtiss%20hydroplane.jpg)

By the summer of 1912, Benoist
became preoccupied with the notion of flying from water (pioneered in this
country by Glenn Curtiss in 1911).

[Photo from Benoist2014/Missouri Historical Society](http://www.benoist2014.com/2012/07/26/who-was-thomas-benoist/)

Fitting a single broad float to the
undercarriage of a Type XII Cross Country Plane, Benoist soon had his floatplane
flying from several rivers and lakes in the St. Louis area.

![](benoist%20type%20xiii%20cruiser.jpg)Benoist went on to
develop a different type of water-based aircraft with the assistance of St.
Louis aviator Hugh Robinson, whom Benoist had hired away from his
rival, Glenn Curtiss. The resulting Type XIII flying boat (photo at
left) joined the wings, tail, and engine of the Type XII to a
boat-hull type fuselage. For on-water stability and maneuverability,
the Roberts engine was buried in the hull, driving the pusher
propeller via a roller chain. The new Type XIII first flew in
December 1912. After some modifications to improve performance, the
Type XIII Lake Cruiser was widely demonstrated during the summer of
1913.  ![](Tom%20Benoist,%201874-1917.jpg)

Benoist type XIII
Lake Cruiser in final form

[From Air & Space Museum, Benoist Paper](http://www.airandspacemuseum.org/BenoistPaper.htm)

Thomas Benoist

[From Air & Space Museum](http://www.airandspacemuseum.org/BenoistPaper.htm)

Tony Jannus earned fame as a test pilot and instructor
on March 1,
1912 **,** when he carried Captain Albert Berry aloft to make the first parachute j![](Tony%20Jannus%20in%20the%20Benoist,%201914.jpg)ump
from an airplane.  He also piloted the first tests of airborne machine
guns.  Jannus flew a number of exhibitions demonstrating Benoist planes
throughout the Midwest and was a contestant at a Chicago air meet in September
1912.  Later that month, he established an American passenger-carrying
record by taking three men with him on a 10-minute flight.

[Photo from Screaming Eagle Gallery](http://www.gateway101.org/photos/index.php?album=1st-parachute-jump-anniversary&image=tony-jannus-_-albert-berry.jpg)

_(Right) "Aviation history again was made over_
_the City of Flight on March 1,_
_1912, when Capt. Albert Berry, right, made the first parachute jump from an_
_airplane. The Benoist biplane was piloted by Tony Jannus. The parachute was carried_
_in the cone-like device in the undercarriage, held in by rubber bands which_
_broke under the weight of the jumper."_

![](Jannus%20&%20Albert%20Berry.jpg)

![](1913%20Jannus%20&%20Smith%20on%20the%20Mississippi.jpg)

J.D.
Smith making repairs,
Mississippi River at St. Louis.

On November 6, 1912, flying an early model Benoist on a single float, Jannus
and his mechanic J.D. Smith, left Omaha for New Orleans in an attempt to set a
distance record for winged aircraft. It took six weeks to make the 1,973 mile
trip down the Missouri and Mississippi rivers because of stops for exhibitions, a near-disastrous
fire, repairs and a bout with appendicitis.  Jannus received wide acclaim
in the newspapers as "the pioneer flying-boat pilot of the world." Shortly
thereafter, he was credited with setting a "continuous flight with passenger"
record by flying the 251 miles from Paducah, Ky., to St. Louis in four hours, 15
minutes.

In 1913, Jannus participated in a New York
Times-sponsored air exhibition. He flew actress Julia Bruns in a Baldwin
Red Devil 4,000 ft above Staten Island for twenty minutes on October 12,
1913\. The next day, he flew in an air race over Manhattan, the Times
reporting that "The graceful Benoist biplane sailed along on an even
keel...driven by the famous Tony Jannus"

Tony quickly
became a popular figure in aviation. By virtue of his technical education, he
began to get involved in the experimental and design aspects of aviation and
became one of the foremost designers of aircraft.  By 1913 he had become
one of the principal stockholders of Benoist Aircraft Company in St. Louis.  Jannus was always the center of attention, his personality, good
looks, and talent as a speaker made him a highly desired individual; he often
dated movie actresses, and women idolized him, having become the epitome of the
romantic flyer.

Jannus enjoyed going to movies, and especially ones where airplanes played
a role.  He was often critical of the obvious substitution of a pilot for
the actor and vice versa in the flying scenes, and the awkwardness of the way
they handled the machine guns.  This disturbed him so much that he began
writing scenarios to introduce the airplane to various situations in movies,
even comedies.  In an interview in 1913, he said "When I see some of the
aeroplane work in the movies, it makes me weep and wonder why things are as they
are, and at the present moment I am worked up to such a pitch over the
misrepresentation that aviation has received in moving pictures that I hope to
take a little 'flyer' at it myself.  Why shouldn't I, when I have a stable
of flying machines at my disposal...and above all, the inclination?  In
looking around New York, I have observed some opportunities for doing stunts,
where the camera can get them, that will make the whole world sit up and take
notice."

![](Jannus-1914-airboat.jpg)

1914

State Archives of Florida,
Florida Memory, [http://floridamemory.com/items/show/28207](http://floridamemory.com/items/show/28207)

**![](percival%20fansler.jpg)**

**Percival Elliott Fansler, the driving**
**force behind the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line** -
Pictured here on opening day, Jan. 1, 1914

Percival Elliott Fansler was a Florida sales representative for Kahlenberg
Brothers, a Wisconsin manufacturer of diesel engines for fishing boats.  A natural-born
salesman and speed-boat racer, he was in reality an electrical engineer who
had assisted in the lighting installations for the 1904 St. Louis Worlds
Fair. He also sold road machinery.  Due to his love of racing boats,
he became fascinated with Benoist's progress in aircraft design and manufacture. He
recalled later: "My appetite for speed was whetted by my experiences in racing
boats."

Having heard that Tony Jannus had made his famous trip down the
Mississippi in a flying boat, Fansler started correspondence with Tom Benoist.  Benoist liked the idea and in his
reply stated that the new Benoist XIV "Safety First"  airboat, capable
of carrying at least one passenger--and sometimes two light ones--in addition
to the pilot, would be the craft to use.  Fansler said, "After
receiving two or three letters that dealt with the details and capabilities of
the boat, the idea popped into my head that instead of monkeying around with the
thing to give 'jazz' trips, I would start a real commercial line from somewhere
to somewhere else. My experience in Florida led me to conclude that a line could
be operated between St. Petersburg and Tampa. The distance was about 23
miles--some 15 of which were along the shore of Tampa Bay, and the remainder
over open water. I wrote to Tom about the scheme and he became immediately
enthusiastic."

In 1913, a trip between Tampa and St.
Pete would take 2 hours by steamship, or anywhere from 4 to 12 hours by
rail. The trip by automobile was an adventure, taking around 20 hours
around the bay due to hand-cranked engines, solid rubber tires and unpaved
roads.

In November of 1913, Fansler arrived in St. Petersburg to "sell" an airline -
either to Tampa or St. Petersburg. He first made a spirited presentation
to City of Tampa officials with his business proposition--to be the
headquarters and financers of his proposed airboat passenger service
between Tampa and St. Pete.  Nine out of ten thought the project was
a fake.  Their belief that airboats could not fly may have been one
factor in their decision to turn down Fansler.  (This, in spite of
the fact that Lincoln Beacher had flown over Tampa over two years earlier,
and one of Tampa's influential and most respected citizens, Morton Plant,
had been an original stockholder when the Wright Brothers incorporated in
1909, capitalizing their company to the tune of $1 million.)![](p%20e%20fansler.jpg)

The truth of the matter was, Tampa
officials didn't care whether travelers could get to St. Pete quickly and
easily.  Rivalry between the two cities was at the forefront, and
Tampa didn't want lose visitors or their business to the city across the
bay.

Fansler then took the long, 64
mile train ride around the bay to St. Pete
on Dec. 4th, 1913.  Back then, St. Petersburg was a city of only
about 9,000 people during the winter months. Fansler first used his
acquaintance with former college-mate Mary Brown, wife of owner and
publisher of the St. Pete Evening Independent, Maj. Lew Brown, to convince
the Major of the viability of his proposal.  He then made his pitch
the St. Pete city officials. "They thought I had a mighty clever idea," he
wrote later, "but they didn't believe there was any such thing as a flying
boat. I talked a group of a dozen men into putting up a guarantee of $100
each, and the Board of Trade came in with a like amount." Along with Maj. Brown, Fansler
was able to gain support from the city and other St. Pete businessmen such
as L.A. Whitney and Noel Mitchell,
subscribing a $2400 airline
subsidy, even though there never had been a scheduled airline in the
history of man.

FIRST SCHEDULED AIRLINE
SERVICE![](flyer.jpg)Fansler immediately wired Benoist to come to St. Petersburg. On December 12, 1913,
Tom Benoist arrived in St. Petersburg.  He spoke
these words, "We are going to do something here this winter which never has been
done before and which will attract attention from all the world". On
December 17, 1913, Benoist signed the world's first airline contract for
heavier-than-air planes--10 years to the day after the Wright brothers had first
flown successfully at Kitty Hawk.

The agreement called for a cash subsidy of $2,400 from the city of St.
Petersburg, but only if the Benoist company supplied planes and pilots and
maintained two scheduled flights daily between St. Petersburg and Tampa, six
days a week for three months. Regular service was to begin on January 1, 1914.
For each day that the scheduled flights were made on time, the city guaranteed
to pay $40 a day through January and $25 a day in February and March.

The day after the contract signing, the St. Petersburg Times reported that "a
fleet of hydro-aeroplanes" would make regular trips between St. Petersburg and
Tampa, and predicted that the service would "prove to be of great benefit to the
city." When asked about the safety of the operation, Fansler said, "there is
no more liability of accident in one of the boats than in an automobile, and the
airboat will seldom be more than five feet above the water."

Fansler, as general manager of the airline, fixed the price of a one-way
ticket at $5 for the 22-minute trip. Passengers were allowed a maximum weight of
200 pounds gross, including hand baggage. Excess weight was charged at $5 per
hundred pounds, minimum charge 25 cents. Besides operating two scheduled flights per day, six
days a week, Fansler recalled that "our agreement with our backers permitted us
to indulge in special flights at any price we cared to name, and we made a
number of these trips at $10 to $20 each."

Charter flights could be arranged from St. Petersburg to several other
Florida sites--Pass-a-Grille, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs, Bradenton, Sarasota,
Palmetto, Safety Harbor and Egmont Key. Advertisements for these flights stated
they would cost $15 and "trips covering any distance over water routes would be
made from the waters' surface to several thousand feet high at passenger
request."

In addition to starting the airline, Fansler announced that a training school
for pilots would be established. Three Benoist airboats would be shipped from the
St. Louis factory for both purposes. One was a Model 13; the other two were
Model 14s. The Model 13 was to be operated by the school for instruction, and
the 14s were to be used for passenger transport. Also, a large, open-ended hangar was
planned.

![](ogden-news.jpg)

The first of the two Model 14 Benoist airboats, No. 43, arrived by train from
Paducah, Ky., accompanied by Tony Jannus,
who had been selected as pilot for the line; his brother Roger, and J. D. Smith,
mechanic.  Smith, whom Jannus called "Smitty, the Infallible," was
especially adept at maintaining the Roberts 6-cylinder, in-line, liquid-cooled,
75-hp engines that Benoist used in his planes. Smith had raced motorcycles as a
young man, and when he read about Benoist in 1912, he left his home in
Jamestown, Pa., for the St. Louis plant. Benoist found him voluntarily sweeping
snow off a plane in subfreezing weather and hired him on the spot. Roger Jannus, Tony's older brother, had graduated as an
excellent pilot and mechanic at Kinloch Field and became part of the airline
crew.

Upon arrival in St. Pete, the plane was promptly assembled. It weighed 1,250 pounds, was 26 feet
long and had a wingspan of 44 feet. Although the plane was built to hold only a
pilot and one passenger on a single seat, sometimes two small passengers could
be accommodated. The hull of the Benoist flying boat was made of three layers of spruce with
fabric between each layer. The Roberts engine and a pusher propeller gave the
aircraft a top speed of 64 mph. The wings were of linen stretched over spruce
spars. It was claimed, though not accurately, that the Benoist was the only
plane in the world at the time that had the engine placed down in the hull. The
plane was touted for publicity purposes as "a motor boat with wings and an air
propeller." It was priced at $4,250.

![](1914%20Roger,%20Julius%20Barnes%20owner%20of%20no%2043,%20Tony.jpg)

Roger Jannus, Julius
Barnes, owner of the Benoist No. 43, and Tony Jannus

Tony Jannus gave the Benoist two test flights on December 30 and 31,
1913, accompanied on one of them by Benoist's chief mechanic, J.D. Smith, and on
the other by a local man named J.G. Foley. By New Year's Day of 1914, the continual attention the local paper was giving
to the promised inauguration of scheduled flights had built up intense interest
in the new venture. After a parade from downtown St. Petersburg to the
waterfront, an Italian band from the Johnny Jones Show played at the municipal
pier as Jannus readied the airboat for flight. A crowd of 3,000 looked on while
a ticket for the first flight round-trip to Tampa on the airline was auctioned
off. ![](abram%20pheil2.jpg)

The bidding was brisk for the honor of
being the first fare-paying rider. Ex-Mayor Abram C. Pheil outshouted Board of Trade
Secretary L. A. Whitney, Noel A. Mitchell, and others, and for $400 the coveted
ticket went to the former Inverness man.  Pheil, then in the
wholesale business became the world's first scheduled airline passenger. Mr.
Noel E. Mitchell was second, with a $375 bid. The
history-making first trip of a regular scheduled airline was about to commence.

Former St. Pete Mayor
Abram C. Pheil

![](opening%20day%201914.jpg)

L. A. Whitney, secretary of St. Pete's
Board of Trade, had the honor of saying a few words before introducing
Percival Fansler.  The flying boat was pointed towards the water,
almost ready to go, while three men continued working on it.


**Whitney, Jannus and Tom Benoist,**
**along with other St. Pete investors.**

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory,
[http://floridamemory.com/items/show/32297](http://floridamemory.com/items/show/32297)

![](rc06090.jpg)

**Tony Jannus & Percival Fansler, opening**
**day ceremonies**State Archives of
Florida, Florida Memory,
[http://floridamemory.com/items/show/29409](http://floridamemory.com/items/show/29409)

Fansler stood behind the wings while a
Benoist pennant on the wing strut fluttered in the breeze.  Fansler
looked over the excited crowd, then spoke while the airboat was placed in
the water...

**"The airboat line to Tampa will**
**only be a forerunner of great activity along these lines in the near**
**future...What was impossible yesterday is an accomplishment today, while tomorrow**
**heralds the unbelievable,"** he concluded.

When the applause for Fansler had concluded,
he introduced Tony Jannus.  Jannus appeared dressed as if ready for a
night out on the town, instead of a 21-mile flight in an open cockpit.
He was dressed in white duck pants, a dark jacket and his customary black
bow-tie, black leather gloves nearly to his elbow, and a visored cap.

When Jannus stood to speak, he was met with a tumultuous greeting.
His broad smile beamed nearly as much as the emotion in his eyes.  He
told the crowd he would do his utmost to make this line what people
expected of it.  In closing, he promised to keep the maxim of "safety
first" foremost in his mind.  Other than the historical significance
of this flight, there was nothing new to Jannus this day, having flown
almost daily since his first flight in a Rex Smith plane in Nov. of 1910.

Just before 10 a.m., Jannus and the ex-mayor donned
raincoats.  Jannus boarded the airboat, and Pheil stepped gingerly into the hull and sat on the small wooden seat
beside the pilot.

**P. E. Fansler, Abram**
**Pheil and Tony Jannus,**

**Opening day ceremonies, Jan. 1, 1914**

[City of St. Pete/Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofstpete/7348047138/lightbox/)

![](fansler%20pheil%20jannus3.jpg)

![](fansler%20pheil%20jannus2.jpg)

Jan. 1, 1914 - Percy E. Fansler, general manager
of Tampa Air Boat Line at the left; Mayor A.C. Phiel and Tony Jannus, pilot.

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory,
[http://floridamemory.com/items/show/26357](http://floridamemory.com/items/show/26357)

![](Jannus-waving-to-crowd.jpg)

Jannus and Fansler waving to the crowds, Jan. 1,
1914

Courtesy St. Petersburg Museum of History Archives, photo no. P08410

![](1914%20Jannus%20taxies%20out%20of%20stp%20yacht%20basin.jpg)Jannus called out "Smitty, crank her up", starting
the two-cycle engine and Jannus tested the controls. He waved to the crowd,
taxied out and took off into the wild blue yonder and history, to the wonderment
and cheering of thousands who crowded the waters edge.

**Jannus taxiing out of the St. Pete**
**yacht basin**

They flew at 50 feet most of the way, but
halfway to Tampa, the engine began misfiring, and he landed in the bay
briefly to adjust it, then took off again.

**Jannus & Pheil over**
**Tampa Bay, Jan 1, 1914**

![](benoist%20model%2014%201914.jpg)

State Archives of Florida, Florida
Memory, [http://floridamemory.com/items/show/28205](http://floridamemory.com/items/show/28205)

![](1914%20Tony%20Jannus%20over%20Tampa%20Bay2.jpg)**Jannus over Tampa Bay,**

**Jan 1, 1914**

**Tony Jannus on the joys of flying:**

**"To me, flying is not the successful**
**defying of death--but the indulgence in the poetry of mechanical motion;**
**a dustless, bumpless, fascinating speed; an abstraction from things**
**material into infinite space; an abandon that is yet more exciting but**
**less irritating than any other form of mechanical propulsion."**

Twenty-three minutes after the original
takeoff, Jannus touched down at the entrance to the Hillsborough
River, bringing it to a rest near the Tampa Electric Company plant.
The excited crowd was estimated to be almost as large as in St. Pete,
around 2,000 at the temporary landing dock, with another estimated
1,000 on the Lafayette St. bridge, and about 500 more across the
river.

![](Jannus%20on%20the%20hillsb%20river.jpg)

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory,
[http://floridamemory.com/items/show/24390](http://floridamemory.com/items/show/24390)

When he reached the dock, he was greeted
by enthusiastic cheering, clapping, and the waving of hats and
handkerchiefs.  A moment later, there was a rush down the three
narrow planks connecting the platform to the shore, and men, women and
children fought to get down to greet them.  "Please unbutton my coat" were the
first words of Pheil after he stepped out of the cramped plane and stretched his
legs.  The police had to assist in holding back the crowd so that W.C.
Burgert could take moving pictures of Jannus and Pheil bowing, smiling
and waving to the crowd.  The handshakes and congratulations were
almost unending, and even Mayor D. B. McKay, who had missed a golden
opportunity to make Tampa the official headquarters of the airline,
turned out to welcome Jannus.

A reporter from the Tampa Tribune asked Pheil why his hands were all greasy. He replied that it was from "assisting Mr.
Jannus to adjust some machinery." He told interviewers at the time the flight
caused him no nervous tension, but the ex-mayor rushed to the nearest telephone
to let his folks back home know he had arrived safely.

![](Jannus-on-bank-hillsb-river.jpg)

Tony Jannus standing in the cockpit of
the Benoist #43, taken at the Tampa outlet of the Hillsborough River.
The other man depicted is possibly Harry Railsback.  Courtesy St.
Petersburg Museum of History Archives, photo no. P00119.  They
appear to be posing for some type of endorsement, judging by the sign
propped up against the plane.

In Tampa, Pheil placed a several thousand dollar order for his wholesale
business.  This transaction of business by air was widely chronicled in the
contemporary press.

At exactly 11:00 a.m., Jannus and Pheil left Tampa for the return trip
to St. Pete.  When the Benoist Airboat was sighted off the coast,
word spread like wildfire.  Hundreds of people crowded along the
shore to gain position to view the landing.  With the wind at his
back, Jannus completed the return in 20
minutes.

![](1914%20St%20Pete%20crowd%20waiting%20for%20return.jpg)
Climbing from the cockpit, Jannus dropped his goggles, breaking the glass.
He picked them up, plucked one of the Benoist pennants from the plane, and
with a smile gave both to 10-year-old Judy Bryan who had ducked under a
hastily erected rope to hold back the crowd.  While posing for photos
with Jannus, an elated and triumphant Percival Fansler could only utter,
"So I was crazy?"  Jannus was his usual calm, confident self, and
remarked "It was just a routine flight."

![](pheilcheck.jpg)Abram C. Pheil's check, mistakenly dated
1913 instead of 1914.

As tired as he probably was from the
flight and excitement, Jannus did not slow down.  Within the hour,
he was back in the air, giving "joy-rides" to others.  He took
Johnny J. Jones, for a short flight around the harbor.  Jones was
no stranger to excitement.  He was the owner of popular carnival
shows, featuring a flea circus, and the Regnalls, who would dive 92 feet
into a small lake of fire.  Jones paid $15 for the flight around
the harbor.

Later in the
afternoon, Mr. Bannister, the auctioneer, auctioned off another ticket
for the afternoon flight.  Noel A. Mitchell was the successful bidder
for a round-trip flight at $175. By the end of the day, Jannus had made 9
flights, including the 2 scheduled round trips across the bay.  He
carried 9 passengers, had traveled 134 miles and logged 138 minutes of
flying time.  A total of $615 was earned, which was donated to the
city for the purchase of harbor lights.

![](mae%20peabody.jpg)

The next day, Mae Peabody of Dubuque, Iowa, was
the first woman to make a local flight out of St. Petersburg. (Photos above and
below)

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 St. Petersburg Times announced that it had signed a contract with the
airboat line to fly newspapers daily to Tampa, which would make it "the first
newspaper in the world to use flying machines for delivery purposes." The
announcement added, "This will be the most unusual carrier system in all the
world and Tampa readers, when they receive their copy...will read a newspaper
delivered as no other."

[Exploring Florida](http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/photos/transprt/air/0390.htm), _Courtesy of the Special Collections_
_Department, University of South Florida_

![](1914-first-woman-passenger.jpg)

![](rogery-&-tony-jannus.jpg)

Roger (L) and Tony (R) with unknown man, circa
1914

[Photo from \
Shorpy.com submitted by "burmashave"](http://www.shorpy.com/node/7642)

![](bonoist%20at%20dock.jpg)

The Benoist No.
43 on dock at the St.Pete-Tampa Airboat Line hangar.

![](1914%20St.%20Pete%20hangar.jpg)The airline, which was subsidized by Florida businessmen, made two flights
daily, six days a week. Space on the Benoist was sold out for 16 weeks in
advance when the line opened.  The regular fare
was $5 per person and $5 per one hundred pounds of freight or express carried.
Shortly after the opening of the line, a new Benoist airboat was added which had
an improved front on the hull that protected its occupants from water spray
during take offs and landings. The line was then extended and flights made to
Manatee, Bradenton and Sarasota. It operated successfully for three months and
even made a night flight between St. Petersburg and Tampa carrying a Miss Marian
Ames as passenger. George Ade, the famous humorist was among many notables who
used the line. A total of 1205 passengers were carried without injury, with
only two forced landings.The airboat line hangar was also the home of
the Benoist School of Aviation, where Tony and Roger taught flying
lessons.

The airline service had to sort out a few administrative problems. The Tampa
Port Inspector required that the airline get a license for all its pilots and
planes, so Jannus immediately applied for one, which was issued on February 17,
1914, by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Some historians claim it was the first
airline pilot's license in the United States. According to Edward C. Hoffman,
president of the Florida Aviation Historical Society, the license they have on
hand has the word "steamboat" crossed out and "Aeroplane" typed in.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."

**Tony Jannus and George**
**Gandy, Jr.**

**Feb. 1914**

Of the 50 days scheduled for flying, only seven days were lost because of
weather or maintenance problems. On one flight, Jannus had to land in
choppy water when the engine ran rough because of dirt in the carburetor. One
pontoon and a portion of one lower wing were damaged. Fansler reported that
Jannus fixed the carburetor, "got the boat into the air again with skill and
flew on in with a portion of the wing hanging like the broken wing of a bird."
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."

![](jannus%20&%20george%20gandy%20in%20the%20benoist.jpg)

State Archives of Florida,
Florida Memory, [http://floridamemory.com/items/show/24388](http://floridamemory.com/items/show/24388)

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 flew their last flight before leaving Florida.  The put on an
air race show over Tampa Bay on an
eight-mile course. Roger flew the newer, larger, 75 HP Benoist No. 45 while Tony
flew old No. 43.

Afterward, they crated up No. 43 and on
May 9th they headed up to Paducah, KY by train.  Tony was expecting
to be called into active duty with the U.S. Volunteer Aviation Service in
Vera Cruz, Mexico, but was never called.  Fansler had big plans for
the airline, among other ideas, he was planning to interest the U.S. Post
office in "air mail", and hoped to return, but at this point it seemed
improbable.

![](the%20florida.jpg)

**Benoist Flying Boat #45, "The Florida".**
**This flying boat was crashed by Jannus in 1915 and later rebuilt.**State Archives of Florida,
Florida Memory, [http://floridamemory.com/items/show/24391](http://floridamemory.com/items/show/24391)

The original Benoist No. 45 had 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.

![](1910%20air%20race.jpg)

With the end of the St. Pete-Tampa airline, and
chances of resurrecting it improbable, Tony and Roger ended their relationship
with Tom Benoist.  The Jannus brothers and J.D. Smith wanted to start their
own flying company.  For years they had flown thousands of miles in
hundreds of shows, using other people's equipment.  They were tired of
working for daily wages as hired hands.  Owners of the equipment and shows
would typically earn several hundred dollars for a day of exhibitions, paying
their pilots a very small percentage.  Tony also questioned Benoist's
integrity and worsening financial condition.  Tony wanted to be known as
more than a flier, he wanted to move into the design and production field of
aviation, as had Glenn Curtiss, Glenn Martin and the Wrights.

An air show in 1910

Throughout the summer of 1914, both Roger and Tony flew many exhibitions
in the Midwest. They had a thriving business at a resort in Cedar Point, Ohio.
Using their Benoist No.43, they provided rides for guests at the Breakers Hotel,
a popular summer resort on Lake Erie. In his first 5 days, Tony flew 30
passengers over the bay and the lake, for 10 minute flights at $25 each.
He offered aerial ferry service to and from Sandusky, at $15 per round trip, or
$10 one way, and scenic trips at $1 per mile.  Tony also had another
Benoist flying boat which he had bought after leaving St. Pete; he kept it
moored at the dock of the hotel.

![](jannus-at-cedar-point.jpg)

Crowd flocking to Tony and his plane on the
beach at Cedar Point, summer 1914

![](cedar-point-aerial.jpg)

The Breakers Hotel at Cedar Point,
photographed from Tony Jannus' plane, summer of 1914.

While at Cedar Point, Tony
met a young Cleveland woman named Edna Dagmar Hansen.  On Friday,
June 25, she flew with Tony. They then had 21 dates together until July
20th.  They spent many hours together during which some times Tony
played the flute, which he very much enjoyed.

![](Edna-D-Hansen-article1948.jpg)

![](Jannus-at-cedar-point-1914.jpg)

Tony Jannus and passenger
making another safe landing offshore at Cedar Point, 1914.

![](jannus-cedar-point.jpg)

![](jannus-cedar-point-1914.jpg)

![](jannus-cedar-point-on-the-b.jpg)

From _[Ohio's Yesterdays](http://ohiosyesterdays.blogspot.com/2013/07/tony-jannus-at-cedar-point-lake-eries.html)_

![](benoist-replica.jpg)

**Benoist**
**XIV replica at the St. Pete Museum of History**![](benoist-replica2.jpg)

In August of 1914, Roger bought the Benoist No.43 from its owner, Julius
Barnes of Duluth. Following the end of summer, the Jannus brothers shipped their
aircraft to Baltimore.  There, they opened their own company, named the Jannus
Brothers.  Both brothers taught flying; Roger concentrated on exhibitions,
while Tony focused his efforts on the design and construction of the Jannus
flying boat.  At the end of 1914, Roger Jannus, J.D. Smith and
Knox Martin, new to the
company, took their flying boat to San Diego in December 1914 while Tony
remained in Baltimore. The California contingent did a thriving business. While
at San Diego, Roger received seaplane pilot's license Number 26 from the Aero
Club of America. On February 15, 1915, with Smith piloting, he
crashed into San Diego bay. The passenger escaped injury, but Smith lost seven
teeth. The plane was not salvageable and Jannus and Smith headed back east.
Later, the former No. 45 renamed the Florida, which had suffered a broken wing, 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.

By the spring of 1915, things were not going
well for the Jannus brothers.  Their aircraft company, with limited
production, had sold one Jannus Flying Boat, to W.E. Davidson
of Detroit.  While Tony was supervising
the assembly of the aircraft, he considered running an engine production factory
for the Roberts Motor Company.  Instead, he made a side trip to Toronto. There he met with
J.D. McCurdy, general manager of Glenn Curtiss's Canadian aircraft operation.
Due to increased demand caused by the war, Curtiss had created a Canadian
subsidiary of his American company so he could fulfill orders for the
British Royal Naval Air Service.

![](curtiss-mccurdy-&-bell.jpg)

An avid early flight enthusiast, Alexander
Graham Bell (center) formed an experimental group in 1907 to "build a
practical aeroplane that will carry a man."  The committee, shown
above, was from the left: **Glenn Curtiss, J.D. McCurdy**, Bell, F. W.
Baldwin, & Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge.  Photo taken at Bell's Nova
Scotia home.

Curtiss hired Tony Jannus as a test pilot in
the spring of 1915.  Under a veil of secrecy due to concerns of
espionage, they worked on planes for the U.S. and Russian governments,
including one called "the big machine for Russia with two 160 HP motors."![](jannus-flying-boat.jpg)

Jannus at the controls of the Jannus Flying
Boat "Lark" in Baltimore, March 1915.  Jannus may have built 2 or 3
of his flying boats while in Baltimore. The Lark was eventually sold to
W.E. Davidson of Detroit, MI, and Benoist #43 was sold to Knox Martin.

![](jannus-flying-boat-plans.jpg)

Designed with a low center of gravity, the
Jannus Flying Boat initially used a Roberts engine, but later a 125 HP
Maximotor engine which was much more powerful was used.  It gave the
plane a top speed of 65 mph.  The plane could be disassembled in 3
stages and the capability of carrying three passengers in addition to the
pilot.  It could carry a useful load of 900 pounds and had a range of
240 miles.

Roger spent the next several months flying for other people, including Tom
Benoist. While in Sandusky, Ohio, he test flew Benoist's Model G-17 boat,
two-engine, seven-passenger flying boat. In April 1916, Roger went to work for
the Curtiss Aeroplane Company and went to Russia where he engaged in diplomatic
work for Curtiss. In August, after only four months in Russia, Roger returned to
America.

Roger
Jannus (far right) at the controls of a Benoist G-17, 1916.

![](benoist%20g17.jpg)

**Death of Tony Jannus**

In July, 1915, Tony Jannus successfully
flew the prototype Curtiss JN-3, forerunner of the JN-4 "Jenny" of World
War I fame. On October 1, 1915, he was sent by Glenn Curtiss to Russia
as the company's test pilot and trainer of Russian pilots flying Curtiss
airplanes in combat during World War I.  On October 12, 1916 at the age of 27, Jannus was flying a Curtiss
H-7 near Sevastopol (then part of Czarist Russia) when his plane he was using to
train Russian pilots had engine problems and crashed into the Black
Sea, killing Jannus and his two-man Russian crew. His body was
never found.The Tony Jannus Award, created to
perpetuate his legacy, recognizes outstanding individual achievement in
the scheduled commercial aviation industry and is conferred annually by
the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society founded in Tampa in 1963.
Past recipients of the award include such luminaries as Eddie
Rickenbacker, Donald Douglas, Jimmy Doolittle, C. R. Smith (the founder
of American Airlines), William A. Patterson (president of United
Airlines 1934–1966), and Chuck Yeager. Those so honored are enshrined at
the St. Petersburg Museum of History's Tony Jannus exhibit.

On December 17, 2006, Jannus was
posthumously inducted into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine at the
Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, joining
other honorees such as Wilbur and Orville Wright, Charles Lindbergh,
Amelia Earhart, and Chuck Yeager, who have shaped the aviation
industry.\[8\] The St. Petersburg concert venue Jannus Landing is named
for him.

[![](jannus%20award.jpg)](http://www.tonyjannusaward.com/index.html)

Visit the
[Tony Jannus \
Award Website](http://www.tonyjannusaward.com)

**Death of Roger Jannus**

Roger met his death in midair on September 4, 1918, at the controls of a
DH-4. He had just finished flying offensive air patrols over a field at Issoudon
base. His aircraft inexplicably exploded into a ball of flames. Both Roger
Jannus and his student were killed. Several theories attempted to explain the
cause of the explosion. It was probably because of a leaky gasoline tank.

General John J. Pershing,
commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army's American Expeditionary Force, cited Roger
for "Bravely laying down his life for the cause of his country." President
Woodrow Wilson wrote that Jannus "served with honor." France's president
posthumously awarded Roger Jannus the Pendant la Grande Guerre.

Roger Weightman Jannus's aviation accomplishments were many. An Early Bird
flier, he was the recipient of one of the Aero Club of America's first seaplane
licenses. He made history as a pilot for the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line,
the world's first airline. An accomplished World War I military pilot, Roger
Jannus made significant contributions to the safety of flight through actions
such as development of flight training manuals and recovery maneuvers from
deadly tailspins. Roger received a military burial at Arlington national
Cemetery.

> See this
> [1965 British newsreel featuring the Tony Jannus Award](http://www.britishpathe.com/video/aviation-history-honoured-in-america-half-century/query/tampa) being
> presented to Juan Trippe, founder of Pan American Airways.  Also
> honors given to Walter Hudson, builder and pilot of a working replica
> of the Benoist Flying Boat used by Jannus.

![](screen-shots-jannus-award-1.jpg)

![](JFK-at-Al-Lopez-Field,-Nov-.jpg)

On Nov. 18th, 1963, President John F.
Kennedy came to Tampa and made a speech at Al Lopez Field at an occasion
commemorating the 50th anniversary of Tony Jannus' flight.

His next stop after Tampa was Ft. Worth &
Dallas.

[Listen to an audio recording of JFK's speech](http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-243-001.aspx) at this event.

![](JFK-at-Al-Lopez-close-up.jpg)![](1963-JFK-at-Al-Lopez-Field-.jpg)

**Black & white photos**
**by Tony Zappone -**
**[See more photos by Mr. Zappone and read his memories of this event](http://www.big13.net/JFK%20In%20Tampa/JFK%20Tampa1.htm)**

* * *

Sources of information and photos:

[World's First Winged Airline](http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/yhuang3/winged-1.htm) [Airminded.net, the Benoist 14](http://www.airminded.net/benoist14/benoist14.html) [First Scheduled Airline](http://home.earthlink.net/~ralphcooper/pimagm9.htm) [Early Aviators](http://earlyaviators.com/ejannton.htm)

[Jannus, An American Flyer](http://books.google.com/books?id=hqXDkJ1gjS8C&lpg=PP1&ots=-fIU0IW_Vp&dq=jannus an american flyer&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=jannus an american flyer&f=false) [Florida Memory \
Photographic Collection](http://www.floridamemory.com/) [OhioLink Digital Resource \
Commons](http://drc.ohiolink.edu/)

[The \
Brief, Bright Career of Aviation's Thomas Benoist](http://www.airandspacemuseum.org/BenoistPaper.htm), Air & Space Museum

[The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line: 90 Days That Changed the World of \
Aviation](http://digital.lib.usf.edu:8080/fedora/get/usfldc:T06-v18n2_96-000/DOCUMENT?search_terms=jannus), by Thomas Reilly, Tampa Bay History, Fall/Winter 1996

[Wings Over Tampa,](http://digital.lib.usf.edu:8080/fedora/get/usfldc:S57-v10n1_84-000/DOCUMENT?search_terms=jannus) The Sunland Tribune, Vol. X, Dec. 1984, Tampa
Historical Society

**[Tampapix Home](http://www.tampapix.com)**