World's First Regularly Scheduled Commercial Airline

World's First Regularly Scheduled Commercial Airline (HMY1M)

Location: St Petersburg, FL 33701 Pinellas County
Buy Florida State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 27° 45.961', W 82° 37.782'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 401 views
Inscription
Within a decade after the famous Wright Brothers' 1903 flight, aviation history was being made in Florida. The first transcontinental flight landed at Jacksonville in 1912, a naval air training center opened at Pensacola in 1913, and the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, the world's first regularly scheduled commercial airline, began service in 1914. Tom Benoist, a pioneer airboat (seaplane) manufacturer from St Louis, started this cargo and passenger airline as well as a flying school on Tampa Bay. Backed by members of the St. Petersburg Board of Trade, he built hangars on the north edge of the yacht basin. Anthony "Tony" Jannus, Benoist's head pilot, took the airline's first passenger, former mayor A. C. Pheil, across the bay in a biplane on January 1, 1914. Pheil's high bid of $400 at an auction held before the flight brought him this honor. The twenty mile maiden flight of the new service took twenty-three minutes to complete. A few days later, a light cargo was for the first time flown across the bay. The activities of this airline demonstrated that air travel was practical although services were discontinued after only a few months due to financial and technical difficulties.
Details
HM NumberHMY1M
Tags
Marker NumberF-274_MARKER
Year Placed1976
Placed ByThe City of St. Petersburg, in cooperation with the Florida Department of State
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 at 11:07am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17R E 339406 N 3072347
Decimal Degrees27.76601667, -82.62970000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 27° 45.961', W 82° 37.782'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds27° 45' 57.66" N, 82° 37' 46.92" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)727
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 509-663 Dan Wheldon Way, St Petersburg FL 33701, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. This marker needs at least one picture.
  8. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  9. Is the marker in the median?