Tony Jannus

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Tony Jannus
Born(1889-07-22)July 22, 1889
Washington, D.C.
DiedOctober 12, 1916(1916-10-12) (aged 27)
Black Sea, Czarist Russia
OccupationPilot
Parent(s)Frankland Jannus, Emiline Carlisle Weightman

Antony Habersack Jannus, more familiarly known as Tony Jannus (July 22, 1889 – October 12, 1916), 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.[1] Jannus was also the first airline pilot, having pioneered the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line on January 1, 1914, the first scheduled commercial airline flight in the world using heavier-than-air aircraft.[2] The Tony Jannus Award, created to perpetuate his legacy, recognizes outstanding individual achievement in the scheduled commercial aviation industry and is conferred annually by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society founded in Tampa, Florida
, in 1963.

Early years

Jannus was born in Washington, D.C., where his father Frankland Jannus was a patent attorney and his great-grandfather,

St. Louis, Missouri, in late 1911.[3]
: 56 

Jannus during Mississippi River flights
Udvar-Hazy Center

On March 1, 1912, Tony Jannus piloted a Benoist biplane when Albert Berry made the first parachute jump from a moving airplane near St. Louis.[1][5] Later that year, Jannus set a 1,900-mile (3,058 km) overwater flight record following the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers from Omaha, Nebraska, to New Orleans in a Benoist Land Tractor Type XII mounted with floats.[3]: 64 

During the

Antony Jannus, Hugh Robinson, and Benoist himself.[6][7]

Also in 1913, Jannus participated in a

ft above Staten Island for twenty minutes on October 12, 1913. The next day, he flew in an air race over Manhattan, the Times reporting that "The graceful Benoist biplane sailed along on an even keel...driven by the famous Tony Jannus".[3]: 60  Jannus described flying as, "...poetry of mechanical motion, a fascinating sensation of speed, an abstraction from things material into an infinite space."[3]: 2–3  On 15 October, Jannus crashed on take off while setting off to search for Albert Jewell, an aviator who had disappeared over off southern Long Island while flying to join the race on 13 October; Jannus was unhurt in the crash, though the airplane was written off.[8]

The following month, Jannus moved to St. Petersburg, Florida

First scheduled airline flight

Prior to 1914, travel from

St. Petersburg Times: "The St. Petersburg waterfront is an ideal place for starting and landing as the trip to and from Tampa will be one of the most beautiful in the country. Skimming a few feet above the surface of the water... with the purr of a 75 h.p. engine and the whirring of a propeller turning several hundred times a minute, the rush of the cool salt air and the shimmering sunlight on Tampa Bay — no trip could be more enjoyable.".[10]

Departing from a location on January 1, 1914, near the downtown St. Petersburg Municipal Pier on Second Avenue North, Jannus piloted the twenty-three-minute inaugural flight of the pioneer airline's Benoist XIV flying boat biplane. A crowd of 3,000 gathered at the pier to watch the history-making takeoff at 10 a.m. and were told by Fansler that "What was impossible yesterday is an accomplishment today, while tomorrow heralds the unbelieveable" [sic].[3]: 68  Abram C. Pheil, former mayor of St. Petersburg, won an auction for the first ticket with a winning bid of $400 and was a passenger on the inaugural flight . It was the first time a ticket was sold to the general public for point-to-point scheduled air travel. The Benoist reportedly reached a maximum speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) during the flight, according to a United Press account. Other reports indicate that Jannus flew over the Bay at an altitude of less than 50 feet (15 m). Upon the airboat's arrival in Tampa, the Tampa Tribune reported, "a crowd of two thousand was waiting...Messrs. Jannus and Pheil bowed and smiled".[9] Thereafter, flights departed St. Petersburg daily except Sundays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.. Return flights left Tampa at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Curtiss test pilot

Following the end of the St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line's scheduled service between the two Florida cities on March 31, 1914, Jannus left St. Petersburg and quit flying for Benoist, becoming a test pilot for

Curtiss JN-3, forerunner of the JN-4 "Jenny" of World War I fame.[3]: 261–263  On October 1, 1915, he was sent by Glenn Curtiss
to Russia as the company's test pilot and trainer of Russian pilots flying Curtiss airplanes in combat during World War I.

Death

Jannus died on October 12, 1916, near Sevastopol (then part of Czarist Russia) when his plane, a Curtiss H-7 he was using to train Russian pilots, had engine problems and crashed into the Black Sea, killing Jannus and his two-man Russian crew. His body was never recovered.[2][3]: 75 and 263 

Legacy

Main article: Tony Jannus Award
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport

The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society founded in 1963, perpetuates the memory of Jannus as the first commercial airline pilot, by annually conferring the Tony Jannus Award for outstanding achievement in scheduled air transportation. Past recipients of the award have been influential in aviation. These include

Donald Douglas, Jimmy Doolittle, C. R. Smith (the founder of American Airlines), William A. Patterson (president of United Airlines 1934–1966), and Chuck Yeager
. Those so honored are enshrined at the St. Petersburg Museum of History's Tony Jannus exhibit.

An operational replica of the Benoist Model XIV airplane flew across Tampa Bay in a 75th anniversary re-enactment of Jannus' flight, on January 1, 1989. It is now exhibited at the St. Petersburg Museum of History at the St. Petersburg Pier, approximately 100 yards (91 m) from the site of the inaugural flight.

St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport's baggage claim area in the terminal and a Tony Jannus Award exhibit at Tampa International Airport
.

On December 17, 2006, Jannus was posthumously inducted into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine at the

Jannus Landing
(now known as Jannus Live) is named for him.

References

  1. ^ a b "Aviation History Facts — March". U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-01-17. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  2. ^ a b "Tony Jannus, an enduring legacy of aviation". Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-912522-70-4
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7385-6700-6
    .
  5. ^ "Jefferson Barracks Historic Park". St. Louis County Parks & Recreation. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-28. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  6. ^ Noel, E. Percy (April 5, 1913). "Three entries made in Aero and Hydro Cruise". Vol. VI, no. 1. Aero and Hydro. p. 3. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  7. ^ Noel, E. Percy (May 31, 1913). "Aero and Hydro Great Lakes Reliabilit Cruise Entries to Date". Vol. VI, no. 9. Aero and Hydro. p. 166. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  8. ^ Reilly 1997, pp. 114–115.
  9. ^ a b "First Commercial Air Ship Line in World Inaugurated". The Tampa Tribune. January 2, 1914. p. 1.
  10. St. Petersburg Times
    . December 5, 1913.
  11. ^ "Pioneer pilot Jannus honored at 103rd Wright anniversary". The Virginian-Pilot. December 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2009-01-20.

Further reading

External links

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