Son of pioneering family

Among the earliest and most accomplished aviators to emerge from Florida was James Albert Whitted. Born in St. Petersburg in 1893, Whitted was the son of Thomas Albert “T.A.” Whitted and Julia Jeanettie Phillips. Both sides of his family were among the area’s pioneers. His father, who had come to Florida from Iowa by mule train, was a builder, businessman, musician, and member of the St. Petersburg town council in 1894 and 1895. His maternal grandfather, Zephaniah Phillips, was a Civil War veteran, inventor, and one of the earliest settlers of Pass-a-Grille.

Known to family and friends as “Al,” Whitted inherited the mechanical talents of his father and grandfather. After graduating from St. Petersburg High School, he opened a motorcycle repair and sales shop on Central Avenue. While participating in motorcycle racing in Connecticut, he became fascinated by the new field of aviation and soon learned not only how to fly aircraft but also how to maintain and repair them.

Designated Naval Aviator

When the United States entered World War I, Whitted enlisted in military aviation service. In 1917 he joined the Aviation Corps and became one of the first aviators in the U.S. Navy, receiving pilot number 179. Stationed at Pensacola, he distinguished himself as a pilot and instructor. In 1918 he was commissioned a first lieutenant and appointed chief instructor of advanced flying, helping train a new generation of naval aviators.

Establishes commercial enterprise

Following the war, Whitted returned to St. Petersburg and formed an aerial sightseeing company. Beginning in 1919, he flew hundreds of residents and visitors on sightseeing flights over Tampa Bay and the Gulf beaches. Operating from the Vinoy Basin waterfront, where Tony Jannus had launched the world’s first scheduled airline service five years earlier, Whitted became one of the region’s most recognizable pilots.

Whitted earned a reputation not only for his flying skills but also for his public service. A member of the St. Petersburg Civitan Club, he frequently volunteered his aircraft for civic activities and rescue missions. Friends recalled that his airplanes were always available whenever they could be used to help others.

Designs, builds own aircraft

A gifted aircraft designer as well as a pilot, Whitted worked with his brother Clarence to build a series of seaplanes. Their first successful design, the Blue Bird, was a pusher-type flying boat used extensively for passenger flights around St. Petersburg. In 1921, Whitted completed a second aircraft, the Falcon, an experimental seaplane that was lighter and faster than its predecessor. Equipped with an unusual four-bladed propeller, the aircraft was capable of speeds approaching 100 miles per hour.

Legacy cut short

His promising career came to a sudden end on August 19, 1923. While piloting the Falcon over Santa Rosa Sound near Pensacola with four passengers aboard, the aircraft suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure. The propeller broke apart and struck the rear section of the airplane, severing its control wires. Witnessed by hundreds of people gathered along the shoreline, the aircraft plunged into shallow water, killing Whitted and all four passengers. He was only thirty years old.

Municipal airport dedicated in his honor

Although his life was brief, Whitted’s contributions to the development of commercial aviation on Florida’s Gulf Coast had lasting consequences. In recognition of his efforts, St. Petersburg’s first municipal airport, dedicated in 1929, was named Albert Whitted Airport. For almost a decade and a half thereafter, Albert Whitted Airport served as St. Petersburg’s primary airport until World War II, when it was converted to a military air base. In the postwar era it transitioned to the city’s general aviation airport as scheduled airline service moved to Pinellas International Airport (now St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport).