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hibited 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."

In January, 1911, Benoist had another smashup, at Kinloch Field, but was not injured.  That month he announced his intention of starting a flying school, he secured a larger workshop and began making more planes for school operations.  His first pupil was Charles Zorn of Walla Walla, Washington, who arrived in February.  The school formally opened in mid-March with four pupils who were given work in the shop to earn part of their tuition.  Benoist soon made a plank runway at the field to avoid deep mud in wet weather, probably the first hard surfaced airport runway in history.  His class grew rapidly and several of his students bought planes for exhibition work.  As a result, during April he built four planes, and a total of eight by June.  These were still Curtiss-type pusher biplanes with Roberts 4-cylinder engines.  That spring Benoist was flying actively, instructing, testing new planes and carrying passengers.  On July 4th he flew an exhibition at Farmington, Missouri.  During July some of his graduate pupils who had purchased planes began shipping them out and started flying exhibitions.  On September 6th and 7th Benoist gave exhibition flights at Marion, Illinois. On September 14th he flew at Jacksonville, Illinois, on the 15th at Altamont, Illinois, and September 27th he was at Vandalia, Illinois.

On October 20th, 1911, his small factory was destroyed by fire, with considerable loss.  In November Tony Jannus joined Benoist to take over instruction and test flying, bringing with him considerable flying experience and knowledge of planes.  P.G. (Bud) Morriss also became associated with the group as a stockholder, Vice-President and Sales Engineer.  These men made a good team and they started at once on a new 2-seat, dual control, pusher biplane for school work.  it was completed and test flown in January, 1912, and quickly proved to be an excellent machine.  It was a headless type with outrigger tail, 30 foot span, and wide two-wheel landing gear with wheels attached at the outer ends of flat-leaf canti- 

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