Benoist XIV

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Benoist XIV
Benoist xiv.jpg
Benoist XIV in flight
Type: Flying boat
Design country:

United States 48United States United States

Manufacturer:

Benoist Aircraft Company

First flight:

June 1913

Number of pieces:

2

The Benoist XIV flying boat formed the basis of the first regular airline in the USA from Tampa to Saint Petersburg in Florida . Alongside the German DELAG , it was the earliest airline in the world.

history

The American aviation pioneer Thomas Wesley Benoist founded a flight school in Kinloch Field near St. Louis in Missouri in 1911 . Here he began to develop his own types of aircraft. His first aircraft were biplanes , such as the Benoist XII . The planes were assembled at the Benoist factory in St. Louis. Tony Jannus , who became his chief pilot, joined his flight school .

On March 1, 1912, US Army Captain Albert Berry made the world's first parachute jump from an airplane. This aircraft, a Benoist biplane, was piloted by Tony Jannus. For the new type of parachute, Benoist and Jannus received US Patent # 1,053,182.

In the fall of 1912, Benoist began building his first flying boat, the Benoist XIII , using the wings and tail unit of a Benoist XII land plane as a base. The Roberts engine was built into the fuselage behind the cockpit and drove the propeller via a chain. The first flight of the Benoist XIII took place in the summer of 1913. This aircraft achieved great fame when Jannus made a seaplane flight from Omaha to New Orleans over 3,000 km from November 6th to December 15th, 1913 . Capt. WI Chambers from the US Navy - Headquarters was assigned the possibilities of aircraft catapults to test it. These catapult launches were carried out several times and the system was later installed in North Carolina .

The Benoist XIII was followed by the very similar Benoist XIV, a two-seater double-decker with a 75-horsepower 6-cylinder Roberts in-line engine. Pilot and passenger sat next to each other. The fuel tanks were on either side of the engine. The first aircraft transferred Benoist to Creve Couer Lake in west St. Louis for flight tests in August 1913 . By the end of 1913, the company had delivered two Benoist XIVs to the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line.

St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line

Benoist was planning a regular flight from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida in late 1913. Together with the industrialist Percival Elliot Fansler, Benoist brought about the first US airline contract on December 17, 1913. The distance between Tampa and St. Petersburg was 35 km. Fansler became the general manager of the airline, which was named St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line.

A flight took 22 minutes and cost $ 5. A passenger was not allowed to weigh more than 90 kg. There were 6 flights a day on six days of the week.

On January 1, 1914, Benoist started his airline. First passenger for the pilot Tony Jannus was the former mayor of St. Petersburg Abram C. Pheil. In addition to the scheduled flights, you could also book sightseeing flights.

The airline did not exist long, however, because the machine was damaged during a landing. It was repaired quickly, but the residents in the area now considered it unsafe. Eventually Jannus left the Benoist company and the plane was sold. It was now making sightseeing flights on Conneaut Lake , Pennsylvania . During a flight with a passenger that was too heavy, however, the machine was destroyed a few months later.

Benoist built a larger flying boat, the Benoist Model C with two 100 HP Roberts engines for five passengers, but it only carried out test flights.

Tony Jannus died on October 12, 1916 during a test flight with a Curtiss-H flying boat for the Russian army. The machine crashed into the Black Sea . His body was never found. Thomas Wesley Benoist died in a tram accident in 1917.

Museum plane

A replica of the Benoist XIV No. 43 was built in 1984 for the airline's 70th anniversary; this carried out some demonstration flights. Today it is in the Benoist Pavilion at the St. Petersburg Historical and Flight One Museum.

Technical specifications

Pilot Tony Jannus with passenger in the cockpit
Parameter Dates of the Benoist XIV
crew 1 pilot and 1 passenger
length 7.92 m
span 13.72 m
Wing area 38.65 m²
height k. A.
drive a 6-cylinder in-line Roberts engine with 75 hp (55 kW)
Top speed 103 km / h
Empty mass 540 kg

literature

  • ER Johnson: American Flying Boats and Amphibious Aircraft , McFarland and Co., 2009, ISBN 978-0-7864-3974-4 , p. 20

Web links

Commons : Benoist XIV  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files