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| Flying boat used by Aeromarine in 1920 Florida State Archives/Florida Memory |
By Jane Feehan
Flying boats. Flying luxury boats. That’s how Miami reporters
described the new passenger planes of Aeromarine Airways in 1922. One headline in the Miami Herald teased
readers with the idea of “breakfast in Miami, luncheon in Nassau …. and dinner
in Palm Beach.” The idea could be transformed into reality by the airline.
Described as “a Pullman on wings,” the planes offered
writing and card tables, a bathroom and individual seats and windows. Music was played from a radio to a loudspeaker
in the cabin, which carried only 11 passengers. The planes, powered by two 400-H
Liberty engines, were flown by two pilots and guided by one “radio man.”
A reporter described ascent from the water into the air as a
swift, smooth glide to an altitude of 100-500 feet. Forty minutes later they viewed
the clear waters (and large fish) of Bimini. After a 2.5-hour flight the flying
boat landed in waters off Nassau, 187 miles from Miami.
Aeromarine Sightseeing and Navigation Company merged with Florida West Indies Airways (among the first to fly U.S. international passenger flights) in 1920 or 1921 (reports vary) to form Aeromarine Airways with a Miami office at 28 North Bayshore Drive.
The new company acquired the old FWIA Key West to Havana mail route. Mail routes were contracted with and paid for by the United States Postal Service, providing most of the capital for the early passenger airline industry. Aeromarine Airways’ maiden flight took place from Miami to Bimini in late 1920 or early 1921 (accounts vary) on the Christopher.
The company's fleet of 27 aircraft, manufactured in Keyport NJ, bore names of historic
explorers or their ships (think Nina, Columbus, Santa Maria and Balboa).
Aeromarine had flown much of the eastern seaboard area before the Florida initiative.
Flights were a hit with many in Florida, including a few in
the movie/entertainment industry. The Miami News reported a film crew producing
a movie for Paramount Studios took a trip from Miami to Nassau for the project. Another story
featured an onboard party for a famous French dancer. It was probably the first
time a chef whipped up and served a fancy inflight meal (excluding dirigible flights) for
guests.
Cost? About $30-$80 a ticket depending on one way or roundtrip fare and whether to the Bahamas, Key West or to Havana.
Company President Charles F. Redden and his colleagues proposed
big plans for Aeromarine. They hoped for service between New York and Miami
(only 20 hours!) and Miami and Havana. Redden visualized Miami as a “mammoth”
transportation hub not unlike some in Europe. The company planned to build a
flying boat with four engines for 26 passengers and a cabin twice the size as was in service. Not
all came to fruition, but they did tout new technology that was deployed to enhance safety: a large
signal kite equipped with a radio aerial that could expand the area to call for
help in an emergency.
Though Aeromarine could boast about a stellar safety record
before Florida, an accident occurred in the Florida Straits January 13, 1923.
The Columbus experienced engine failure and crashed into the seas with
10 to 12-foot waves flooding the hull. Four people died; a ferry, the H.M. Flagler,
rescued four or five including two pilots.
The accident, however, did not spell the end of Aeromarine
Airways by 1924. The freeze or cancellation of their valuable mail route contracts
did. The name was not forgotten. Aeromarine
West Indies was incorporated in Florida in 2007.
Sources:
Miami Herald, Dec. 2, 1920
Miami News, Dec. 14, 1922
The Herald, Dec. 31, 1922
Miami News, Jan. 15, 1923
Miami News, Jan. 30, 1923
Miami News, Jan. 31, 1923
Miami News, Feb. 12, 1923
Miami News, April 19, 1923
Miami News, Nov. 13, 1924
Miami Herald, Dec. 20, 1924
Miami News, June 22, 1925
Wikipedia
Tags: Aviation history, Transportation history, Miami history, flying boats
