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Park, St. Louis, July 11 to 16, 1910, and several local and visiting aero novices entered the contest. Howard Gill of California brought a Curtiss-type biplane with a 26 h.p. automobile engine, and Hillery Beachey made some successful short flights with his machine during the event. Soon after this Noel resigned from the supply company to start an aviation magazine venture and Benoist continued the aero supply business alone. He bought Gill's Curtiss-type biplane, and became the first in St. Louis to own an airplane. He established a workshop to make the plane parts necessary to carry on the supply business and began at once to teach himself to fly his plane. As soon as he made the first hops he learned it was badly underpowered, so he removed the revamped automobile engine and installed a locally-built Boulevard aircraft engine.

In August work started on the first St. Louis flying grounds. Called Kinloch Field, it was promoted by the Aero Club of St. Louis and comprised of eighty acres with a grandstand, clubhouse and hangars. There, Benoist made his first successful flight on September 18th. An Air Meet and International Balloon Races were held at Kinloch Field October 8th to 18th with a group of well-known Wright aviators competing. Benoist was also flying there, but as a beginner he was quite unnoticed during this event. He then left to fly his first public exhibition date at Amarillo, Texas, on October 11th and 12th. There, on the last day, he had a forced landing and hit hard, throwing him out of the machine. The engine was still running and as the plane passed over him he received some injuries from the tips of the propeller blades, the only near serious accident of his entire flying career. At St. Louis the Aero Show was held in mid-November and Benoist exhibited his Gill Curtiss-type plane and a line of accessories. All through December he was practicing actively at Kinloch Field, flying well and taking short cross-country jaunts of several minutes. That month he also advertised "New Machines, Parts, Accessories, Engines, Propellers, and Exhibition Flights Arranged."