Warbird Information Exchange

Kermit Weeks is building from scratch, a precise reproduction of the Benoist Airboat that made the first commercial flight using airplanes on January 1, 1914. He plans to fly the airboat on the 100 year anniversary, January 1, 2014, retracing the route of the original flight from St. Petersburg, FL to Tampa, FL as closely as possible. They put up a web site too to follow the build progress. benoist2014.com

http://youtu.be/FwF2LlhtGOw

Thanks for posting that link! Mr. Benoist was a very important early aviator in the St. Louis area. I had heard that Kermit was heading up a replica Benoist flying boat project but until you posted this info, I had lost track of the progress. I wonder how far Mr. Benoist would have gone in aviation had he not died so young?

Thanks for sharing!

astixjr wrote:Thanks for posting that link! Mr. Benoist was a very important early aviator in the St. Louis area. I had heard that Kermit was heading up a replica Benoist flying boat project but until you posted this info, I had lost track of the progress. I wonder how far Mr. Benoist would have gone in aviation had he not died so young?

Agree with you on Mr. Benoist. Could have had an interesting career.

Don't know if you've seen, but there are some updates on the reproduction progress.

An update on the metal work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_A2EDsv ... KIqCwrG66g

Kermit visits a possible launch site in St. Petersburg.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ6Mudi4 ... RVLZhLH_Pw

Ken Kellett talks about putting together the wing panels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOS7gpTw ... OS7gpTwiCo