XIV | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Airliner |
Manufacturer | Benoist |
Designer | |
Primary user | St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line |
Number built | 2 |
History | |
Introduction date | 1914 |
First flight | 1913 |
Retired | 1914 |
The Benoist XIV, also called The Lark of Duluth, was a small biplane flying boat built in the United States in 1913 in the hope of using it to carry paying passengers. The two examples built were used to provide the first heavier-than-air airline service anywhere in the world,[citation needed] and the first airline service of any kind at all in the United States.[citation needed]
The first fixed-wing scheduled airline was started on January 1, 1914. The flight was piloted by Tony Jannus[1] and flew from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, operated by the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line.[2]