It was powered by a Roberts 6-cylinder, in-line, liquid-cooled, 75-horsepower engine.
A Model 14 Benoist airboat was shipped to St. Petersburg by train. It weighed 1,250 lbs. (567 kilograms), was 26 feet (8 meters) long and had a wingspan of 44 feet (13 m). It was powered by a Roberts 6-cylinder, in-line, liquid-cooled, 75-horsepower engine. The airplane had a top speed of 64 mph (103 km/h). The hull was made of three layers of spruce with fabric between each layer. The wings were made of spruce spars with linen stretched over them. The plane was built to hold only a pilot and one passenger side-by-side on a single wooden seat.