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1914: Tony Jannus

Posted By Roger Codger on Apr 26, 2011 |

The First Airline Pilot

The first ever airline started flying in 1914, between St.Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, in the United States of America. This was just over 10 years after the Wright Brothers made their first flight. This airline was called the St.Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, because they used flying boats, and Tony Jannus was the pilot.

Tony left the airline after about 3 months, becoming a test pilot for the Curtiss airplane company.

Tony and the Benoist flying boat used by the World’s first airline.

Tony Jannus

1912: Over-water record
(1900 miles of rivers)
1912: 1st parachute jump from plane
(pilot, for jumper Albert Berry)
1914: Airline Pilot
(for 3 months)
1914: Test Pilot for Curtiss
(flew JN-3, Jenny prototype)
1915: Sent to Russia
(Curtiss test and training pilot)
1916: Training pilots in Russia incomplete

References

Tony Jannus (Wikipedia)
Tony Jannus Award
Tony Jannus (earlyaviators.com)
YouTube

Author: Roger Codger

Roger has plenty of stories to tell about the aviators of years gone by, and the golden age of aviation when anything was possible. We love hearing him talk about the heroes of the past, some famous and others not so -- courageous pioneers who made aviation what it is today.