Viewing page 30 of 71

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Kentucky for an engagement.

Following this Tony purchased a Benoist Boat and left the company to start a passenger carrying business for himself at Sandusky, Ohio in late May. He was very busy through the resort season, flying between Cedar Point, Put-In-Bay, Lorsin and Cleveland carrying many prominent people on both pleasure and businedd trips. He also flew two exhibition dates that season, at Peoria, Illinois on July 4th and Fort Madison, Iowa Septemeber 10th. After the resort season was over in late October Tony and his brother Rodger started the Jannus Brothers Company in Baltimore, Maryland to operate a flying school, carry passengers and make exhibition flights. Both owned Benoist Boats and started operations at once from the Patapsco River, carrying many prominent people from both Baltimore and Washington on flights about the Bay areas. With Rodger, Fritz Ericson joined the company, and being a graduate engineer, they soon decided to design, build and market a new Jannus Flying Boat. It was a Pusher Biplane of 45 ft. span, for pilot and two passengers, using an 8 cyl. 120 H.P. Maximotor engine installed in the hull behind the occupants, Driving the propeller mounted between the wings, by a roller chain transmission.

This plane was completed during the late winter months of 1914-1915 and first flight tests at Baltimore were highly successful. Reportedly they soon had some orders, and the first plane was shipped to W. D. Davidson, Detroit, Michigan on April 28th. Tony went there to supervise the assembly and make some demonstration flights. About this