MEDIA RELEASE #2
Flight 2014, Inc.
First Airline Centennial Celebrations
The year 2014 is the Centennial Year of the World’s First Airline. The First Airline was launched in Tampa Bay on New Year’s Day 1914. It was called the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line and flew a regular daily schedule between St. Petersburg and Tampa. Its pilot was pioneer aviator Tony Jannus. The airline was the original model for today’s global aviation industry. A series of events and projects are planned to celebrate the centennial:
Fall, 2013. A new First Airline Exhibit will be on display at Tampa International Airport. Also an outdoor display will be erected on Tampa’s Riverwalk.
Dec. 5, 2013. Panel “Celebrating the First Airline” at the History Museum in St. Petersburg. Panelists include Dr. Warren Brown, Aviation Historian, Justin Meyer, Director of Air Service Development at Tampa International Airport, and Kermit Weeks, CEO of Fantasy of Flight and builder of the Benoist Airboat reproduction to be flown Jan. 1, 2014. Moderated by Will Michaels, President of Flight 2014 and author of “The Making of St. Petersburg.” Doors open at 6PM; Program at 7PM. (No charge)
December 31, 2013. A new portable exhibit telling the First Airline story will be launched starting at the History Museum in St. Petersburg. Student “Aviation Art” will be on display.
December 31, 2013. St. Petersburg’s First Night Program will have the World’s First Airline as its theme (“First Night/First Flight”) and there will be aviation-related activities for adults and children throughout the Downtown area. The following activities will take place at the St. Petersburg Museum of History on the approach to the Pier (335 2nd Avenue, N. E.): Balsawood gliders will be distributed to the first 500 young people requesting them. A Tony Jannus impersonator will be on hand to tell the story of the First Airline (7PM), and a reproduction of the original bi-plane airliner, the Benoist Flying Boat, built by Kermit Weeks of Fantasy of Flight, will be on display. Kermit Weeks will speak at 8PM. Student aviation artwork will be on display. There will be an auction for two roundtrip tickets courtesy of Southwest Airlines. (This parallels the auction held on the occasion of the first flight in 1914 for the honor of being the first passenger.) Also, a special postal cancellation commemorating the event has been arranged with the US Postal Service. Commemorative envelopes for the cancellation will be available.
January 1, 2014. At exactly 10AM on New Year’s Day, Kermit Weeks will fly his reproduction of the original Benoist Airboat from the North Yacht Basin in downtown St. Petersburg (near the History Museum) to the Seaplane Basin at Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands in Tampa, recreating the first flight. The Mayor of St. Petersburg will be on hand for the take-off . The public is invited to view the event. The program and celebration in St. Petersburg starts at 9AM. Balsa wood commemorative gliders will be given to the first 200 children requesting them. Also, a special postal cancellation commemorating the event has been arranged with the US Postal Service, and mail with the cancellation will be carried on the flight. Commemorative envelopes for the cancellation will be available in St. Petersburg. Parking is available at the Dolphin and Pelican Parking lots on the approach to the Pier. The program also starts at 9AM in Tampa. The St. Petersburg ceremonies and takeoff may be viewed on a large outdoor screen, followed by a Tampa program and celebration upon landing.
Jan. 8, 2014. “Florida Conversations” Series at the Tampa Bay History Center: “Celebrating the First Airline, with Will Michaels, President of Flight 2014 and author of “The Making of St. Petersburg.” 6PM.
April, 2014. The annual Sun n Fun Fly-in in nearby Lakeland will celebrate the First Airline Centennial and its chief pilot Tony Jannus. (Second-biggest Fly-in in the world).
The celebration events are being planned by the Flight 2014, Inc. Planning Board and volunteers. For more information go to www.airlinecentennial.org or contact Bob Carter, Communications Chair, at 727-898-3008, or Will Michaels, Board President, at 727-420-9195. Sponsorship opportunities are available.
Fall, 2013. A new First Airline Exhibit will be on display at Tampa International Airport. Also an outdoor display will be erected on Tampa’s Riverwalk.
Dec. 5, 2013. Panel “Celebrating the First Airline” at the History Museum in St. Petersburg. Panelists include Dr. Warren Brown, Aviation Historian, Justin Meyer, Director of Air Service Development at Tampa International Airport, and Kermit Weeks, CEO of Fantasy of Flight and builder of the Benoist Airboat reproduction to be flown Jan. 1, 2014. Moderated by Will Michaels, President of Flight 2014 and author of “The Making of St. Petersburg.” Doors open at 6PM; Program at 7PM. (No charge)
December 31, 2013. A new portable exhibit telling the First Airline story will be launched starting at the History Museum in St. Petersburg. Student “Aviation Art” will be on display.
December 31, 2013. St. Petersburg’s First Night Program will have the World’s First Airline as its theme (“First Night/First Flight”) and there will be aviation-related activities for adults and children throughout the Downtown area. The following activities will take place at the St. Petersburg Museum of History on the approach to the Pier (335 2nd Avenue, N. E.): Balsawood gliders will be distributed to the first 500 young people requesting them. A Tony Jannus impersonator will be on hand to tell the story of the First Airline (7PM), and a reproduction of the original bi-plane airliner, the Benoist Flying Boat, built by Kermit Weeks of Fantasy of Flight, will be on display. Kermit Weeks will speak at 8PM. Student aviation artwork will be on display. There will be an auction for two roundtrip tickets courtesy of Southwest Airlines. (This parallels the auction held on the occasion of the first flight in 1914 for the honor of being the first passenger.) Also, a special postal cancellation commemorating the event has been arranged with the US Postal Service. Commemorative envelopes for the cancellation will be available.
January 1, 2014. At exactly 10AM on New Year’s Day, Kermit Weeks will fly his reproduction of the original Benoist Airboat from the North Yacht Basin in downtown St. Petersburg (near the History Museum) to the Seaplane Basin at Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands in Tampa, recreating the first flight. The Mayor of St. Petersburg will be on hand for the take-off . The public is invited to view the event. The program and celebration in St. Petersburg starts at 9AM. Balsa wood commemorative gliders will be given to the first 200 children requesting them. Also, a special postal cancellation commemorating the event has been arranged with the US Postal Service, and mail with the cancellation will be carried on the flight. Commemorative envelopes for the cancellation will be available in St. Petersburg. Parking is available at the Dolphin and Pelican Parking lots on the approach to the Pier. The program also starts at 9AM in Tampa. The St. Petersburg ceremonies and takeoff may be viewed on a large outdoor screen, followed by a Tampa program and celebration upon landing.
Jan. 8, 2014. “Florida Conversations” Series at the Tampa Bay History Center: “Celebrating the First Airline, with Will Michaels, President of Flight 2014 and author of “The Making of St. Petersburg.” 6PM.
April, 2014. The annual Sun n Fun Fly-in in nearby Lakeland will celebrate the First Airline Centennial and its chief pilot Tony Jannus. (Second-biggest Fly-in in the world).
The celebration events are being planned by the Flight 2014, Inc. Planning Board and volunteers. For more information go to www.airlinecentennial.org or contact Bob Carter, Communications Chair, at 727-898-3008, or Will Michaels, Board President, at 727-420-9195. Sponsorship opportunities are available.