Thomas W. Benoist
Encyclopedia
Thomas W. Benoist was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pilot who started the first scheduled aircraft service.

Early life

In 1907 Benoist founded Aeronautic Supply Company (Aerosco) with his brother becoming the first aircraft parts distributor. Benoist's first flight was at the Kinloch Park Aero Club field in Kinloch, Missouri
Kinloch, Missouri
Kinloch is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 298 at the 2010 census.Kinloch is the oldest African-American community to be incorporated in the state of Missouri and was home to a vibrant and flourishing black community for much of the 19th and 20th century. It...

.

Benoist founded the Benoist Aircraft Co.
Benoist Aircraft
The Benoist Aircraft Company was an early manufacturer of aircraft in the United States. It was formed in 1912 in St Louis, Missouri by Thomas W. Benoist. Over the next five years, it would manufacture some 106 aircraft, including Benoist XIVs that would be used for the first heavier-than-air...

 in St. Louis in 1908

Benoist's first flight was 18 September 1910. Later that year, Benoist started the Benoist Flying School employing pilot Tony Jannus
Tony Jannus
Antony Habersack Jannus, more familiarly known as Tony Jannus , was an early American pilot whose aerial exploits were widely publicized in aviation's pre-World War I period. He flew the first airplane from which a parachute jump was made, in 1912. Jannus was also the first airline pilot, having...

.

In 1912, Benoist had one of the leading aircraft companies in the world.

In 1913, P.T. Fansler brought in Tom Benoist to start a service using his new airboats to create a service to connect the two cities that were a day's travel apart in 1913. A 3 month contract was signed with the St. Petersburg board of trade on 17 December 1913, subsidizing 50% of the costs for starting the airline. Benoist started the first scheduled airline service in the world with his SPT airboat line
St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line
The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was the first scheduled airline using a winged aircraft.The airline provided service between St. Petersburg, Florida and neighboring Tampa.-Overview:...

 flying a Benoist Model XIV
Benoist XIV
-References:* * * * Servis, Richard. "". Non Fiction Reader Magazine* from St Petersburg Museum of History executive director Will Michaels printed in the St Petersburg Times 2 February 2004.* -External links:* *...

 on 1 January 1914.

Benoist Died in a streetcar accident in 1917 in Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....

when he was hit by a utility pole during a sharp turn. His company stopped production shortly afterward.

External links

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