Publications of the day in Marion note that he built a steam-powered small auto, using an old horse buggy body and bicycle wheels, with a gasoline-fueled steam boiler of his own design powering the vehicle.

His first job was with the Richmond and Holmes Machine Company in St. Johns, Michigan, from 1904 to 1906, working by day and exploring an interest in the machinery for showing silent films during his evenings.

While working for Buick, Parmelee became interested in the racing cars of Louis Chevrolet and was reputed to have taken one being repaired at the plant on an unauthorized night-time drive to Flushing, a 19-mile round trip.

His flight took him 65 miles (105 km) from Dayton, Ohio, carrying a package of 100 pounds of silk valued between $800 and $1,000 for the opening of a store.

The pair conducted the first military reconnaissance missions, flying along the border with Mexico during maneuvers held by the U.S. Army as a show of force to Mexican revolutionaries.

[1][2] An historic marker to Philip O. Parmelee, erected in 1978, is displayed at the Lansing Capital Region International Airport terminal in DeWitt Township, Michigan.

[3] Parmelee appeared in an early silent film A Dash Through the Clouds directed by Mack Sennett and starring Mabel Normand.