12 December 1913

Benoist Model XIV seaplane No. 43, the Lark of Duluth, arrived in St. Petersburg by train on December 12, 1913, two weeks before its scheduled debut with P.E. Fansler's nascent St Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line. The biplane had a wingspan of 44 feet, was 26 feet long, and had two seats for the pilot and one paying passenger. It weighed about 1250 pounds and had a top speed of 64 mph. Its Roberts six-cylinder engine produced 75 horsepower.