The Channel Crossing

Bleriot’s next design, the XI, showed promise. In July 1909, he set out for northern France to try the English Channel crossing.

There, he found two other fliers hoping to win the prize. Count Charles de Lambert crashed his plane, built by the Wright brothers, in a test run and

withdrew from the contest. The sec­ond flier, Hubert Latham, took off on July 19, 1909, but crashed into the Channel. After being rescued, he called for another plane to be brought so he could try again. Several days of bad weather pre­vented anyone from flying, however.

Early on the morning of July 25, the weather cleared and the wind eased. While Latham slept, Bleriot decided to make the attempt. At 4:35 a. m., with dawn breaking, he took off. Latham was awakened, but by the time he was ready, the wind had picked up, and he could not fly.

Flying without a compass, Bleriot could only guess that he was heading north. After about thirty minutes, Bleriot spotted southeastern Britain. He landed on a field in triumph. In thirty-seven minutes, Bleriot had conquered the English Channel.

OPEN TO ATTACK

Bleriot’s flight across the English Channel provoked anxiety in the United Kingdom. For centuries, the English Channel had been a barrier to invasion. After Bleriot’s flight, newspaper editorials warned that the country would no longer be safe.

In time of war, they said, planes could fly from the Continent to attack the island.

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Later Life

Bleriot’s feat gained him great fame and success. Very quickly, orders for his monoplanes poured in, helping him build another fortune. He took part in forming a company that made one of the most popular fighter planes of World War I, the SPAD. After the war, Bleriot manufactured commercial planes.

Bleriot’s flying career did not last much past his English Channel crossing. Later in 1909, he suffered an injury in another crash that forced him to give up flying. He continued to promote aviation and improvements in aircraft design until his death in 1936.

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SEE ALSO:

• Aileron and Rudder • Biplane

• Fighter Plane • World War I

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