MEDIA RELEASE #1
Flight 2014 Update:
Changes Made to Centennial Celebration of World’s First Airline on New Year’s Day
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 30, 2013) – Due to unforeseen circumstances, Kermit Weeks’ reproduction of the first airliner, the Benoist 2014, will not be ready for flight on New Year’s Day. Weeks was to fly the historically accurate bi-plane in a reenactment to mark the centennial of the World’s First Airline, which originated in Tampa Bay on January 1, 1914. After receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Authority to test fly the Benoist 2014 on December 28th, Weeks was able to power the engine and taxi the airboat on water, but unable to get it airborne despite making several adjustments to the plane.
In its place, a back-up airboat replica, the Hoffman X-4 “Mullet Skiff,” will be used to carry out the reenactment. The Hoffman X-4 amphibious flying boat was built by St. Petersburg native Ed Hoffman, Sr., and previously used in the millennial reenactment in 2000, which flew Tampa Mayor Dick Greco. Eddie Hoffman, Jr. will pilot the replica. Organizers of the centennial celebrations had had planned for several contingencies in the event Weeks’ plane was unable to fly.
Weeks will display the Benoist 2014 on New Year’s Eve near the St. Petersburg Museum of History as part of the city’s First Night Celebration. He will speak at the Museum at 8 p.m. about his two-year long efforts to build the Benoist and the challenges he faced. Despite being unable to fly, Weeks will power up the Benoist 2014 and taxi the airboat in the Vinoy Yacht Basin on New Year’s Day.
The reenactment ceremonies begin at 9 a.m., in both St. Petersburg and Tampa. The takeoff ceremony in St. Petersburg will be next to the History Museum on the approach to the Pier, 335 2nd Ave. N. E., and the landing ceremony will be in Tampa, near the seaplane basin at Peter O. Knight Airport. Large screens will be erected at both sites with live video to facilitate viewing. The live feed links may be accessed at the Flight 2014 website, www.airlinecentennial.org.
Weeks intends to continue to research the hydrodynamics of the first airliner, make necessary corrections, and fly the Benoist 2014 airboat across Tampa Bay sometime later in 2014. There were no blueprints for the original airboat and the design for the reproduction had to be pieced together from bits and pieces of information. Weeks’ reproduction includes an original reverse engineered “Roberts 6” engine, something no other replication has attempted.
Will Michaels, President of the Flight 2014 Planning Board, organizers of the First Airline Centennial Celebrations stated, “Kermit Weeks has made a monumental effort to complete his reproduction of the first airliner in time for the centennial anniversary on January 1st. We are most grateful for the tremendous investment he has made in commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the First Airline. We look forward to thanking him on New Year’s Day in St. Petersburg, and cheering his flight across the bay at some later date in 2014.”
About Flight 2014:
Flight 2014’s vision is to share the story of the birth of the World’s First Scheduled Airline with the world, and to make all aware that pioneer aviator, Tony Jannus’ inaugural flight of the 1914 St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line represents, “the Birth of the Global Airline Industry,” both passenger and air freight. Flight 2014 is supported by the Tony Distinguished Aviation Society, St. Petersburg Museum of History, Florida Aviation Historical Society.
In its place, a back-up airboat replica, the Hoffman X-4 “Mullet Skiff,” will be used to carry out the reenactment. The Hoffman X-4 amphibious flying boat was built by St. Petersburg native Ed Hoffman, Sr., and previously used in the millennial reenactment in 2000, which flew Tampa Mayor Dick Greco. Eddie Hoffman, Jr. will pilot the replica. Organizers of the centennial celebrations had had planned for several contingencies in the event Weeks’ plane was unable to fly.
Weeks will display the Benoist 2014 on New Year’s Eve near the St. Petersburg Museum of History as part of the city’s First Night Celebration. He will speak at the Museum at 8 p.m. about his two-year long efforts to build the Benoist and the challenges he faced. Despite being unable to fly, Weeks will power up the Benoist 2014 and taxi the airboat in the Vinoy Yacht Basin on New Year’s Day.
The reenactment ceremonies begin at 9 a.m., in both St. Petersburg and Tampa. The takeoff ceremony in St. Petersburg will be next to the History Museum on the approach to the Pier, 335 2nd Ave. N. E., and the landing ceremony will be in Tampa, near the seaplane basin at Peter O. Knight Airport. Large screens will be erected at both sites with live video to facilitate viewing. The live feed links may be accessed at the Flight 2014 website, www.airlinecentennial.org.
Weeks intends to continue to research the hydrodynamics of the first airliner, make necessary corrections, and fly the Benoist 2014 airboat across Tampa Bay sometime later in 2014. There were no blueprints for the original airboat and the design for the reproduction had to be pieced together from bits and pieces of information. Weeks’ reproduction includes an original reverse engineered “Roberts 6” engine, something no other replication has attempted.
Will Michaels, President of the Flight 2014 Planning Board, organizers of the First Airline Centennial Celebrations stated, “Kermit Weeks has made a monumental effort to complete his reproduction of the first airliner in time for the centennial anniversary on January 1st. We are most grateful for the tremendous investment he has made in commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the First Airline. We look forward to thanking him on New Year’s Day in St. Petersburg, and cheering his flight across the bay at some later date in 2014.”
About Flight 2014:
Flight 2014’s vision is to share the story of the birth of the World’s First Scheduled Airline with the world, and to make all aware that pioneer aviator, Tony Jannus’ inaugural flight of the 1914 St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line represents, “the Birth of the Global Airline Industry,” both passenger and air freight. Flight 2014 is supported by the Tony Distinguished Aviation Society, St. Petersburg Museum of History, Florida Aviation Historical Society.