Louis Blériot: First Fly English Channel » cross-Channel flight

Special Cable to The Washington Post

admin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:00:46 +0000

Special Cable to The Washington Post

London, July 25, 1909 —

Bleriot’s own account of his exploit, which will appear in the Daily Mail tomorrow, is graphic. He says:

“It is more important to be the first to cross the channel by aeroplane than to have won the prize of 1,000 pounds. I am more than happy that I have crossed the channel. At first I promised my wife that I would not make the attempt. Then I determined that if one failed I would be the first to come, and I am here…

“At 4:30 daylight had come… A light breeze from the southwest was beginning to blow. The air was clear. Everything was prepared. I was dressed in a khaki jacket lined with wool for warmth over tweed clothes and beneath my engineer’s suit of the blue cotton overalls. My close fitting cap was fastened over my head and my ears.

“I had neither eaten nor drunk anything. My thoughts were only upon the flight and my determination to accomplish it this morning. At 4:35 the signal is given, and in an instant I am in the air, my engine making 1,200 revolutions, almost its highest speed, in order that I may get quickly over the telegraph wires along the edge of the cliff. As soon as I am over the cliff I reduce my speed. There is now no need to force my engine. I begin my flight steady and sure toward the coast of England. I have no apprehensions, no sensations, pas du tout__

“I am alone. I can see nothing at all. For 10 minutes I am lost.

“It is a strange position to be alone,

Louis Bieriot just prior to departing Calais the morning of July 25, 1909.

unguided, without a compass in the air over the middle of the channel. I touch nothing. My hands and feet rest lightly on the levers. I let the aeroplane take its own course. I care not whither it goes. For 10 minutes I continue, neither rising nor falling nor turning, and then 20 minutes after I have left the French coast I see the green hills of Dover, the castle, and away to the west the spot where I intended to land.

“What can I do? It is evident that the wind has taken me out of my course. I am almost west of Margaret’s Bay, and I am going in the direction of the Goodwin Sands. Now it is time to attend to steering. I press a lever with my foot and turn easily toward the west, reversing the direction in which I am now traveling. Now, indeed, I am in difficulties, for the wind here by the cliffs is much stronger and my speed is reduced as I fight against it, yet my beautiful aeroplane responds —

“Once more I turn my aeroplane, and describing a half-circle I enter the opening and find myself again over dry land. Avoiding the red buildings on my right, I attempt a landing, but the wind catches me and whirls me around two or three times. At once I stop my motor, and instantly my machine falls upon the land from a height of 65 feet. In two or three seconds I am safe upon your shores. Soldiers in khaki run up, and a policeman and two of my compatriots are on the spot. They kiss my cheek. The conclusion of my flight overwhelms me. I have nothing to say, but accept the congratulations.

“Thus ended my flight across the channel. The flight could easily be done again. Should I do it? I think not. I have promised my wife that after a race for which I have entered I will fly no more.”

Special Cable to The Washington Post

London, July 25, 1909 —

Louis Bleriot just prior to departing Calais the morning of July 25, 1909

Bleriot’s own account of his exploit, which will appear in the Daily Mail tomorrow, is graphic. He says:

“I am alone. I can see nothing at all. For 10 minutes I am lost.

“It is a strange position to be alone,

Louis Bieriot just prior to departing Calais the morning of July 25, 1909.

Unguided, without a compass in the air over the middle of the channel. I touch nothing. My hands and feet rest lightly on the levers. I let the aeroplane take its own course. I care not whither it goes. For 10 minutes I continue, neither rising nor falling nor turning, and then 20 minutes after I have left the French coast I see the green hills of Dover, the castle, and away to the west the spot where I intended to land.

Centenary of his flight across the English Channel

admin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:16:28 +0000

louis bleriot 1909

1909 was a time where the aircraft was still in diapers. Have spent a few years shy but momentous flight originating in the global aviation, led by the American brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk beach, and enthusiasts of the conquest of the sky with airplanes propelled by motors struggle to go back ever further away.
Existing aircraft then have nothing to do with their successors.

Machines are usually produced by its own pilots, just light frames, coated fabric, fitted with engines of very low power, low speed and limited range. They also lack the most basic tools for navigation.

But after 1909 and the Daily Mail newspaper has offered £ 1,000 over who first natural barrier that separates centuries in France United Kingdom: the English Channel.

Struggling to achieve a brilliant pupil of Wilbur Wright, the aristocratic Russian ancestry French Charles de Lambert, and Hubert Latham favorite.

Less obvious, but with much determination as his rivals for the challenge, competition entering Louis Blériot, a former manufacturer of automotive lanterns become builder of aircraft.

Since 1900, Gallo has built and tested prototypes of their own design. The first success is achieved in October 1906 when flying between two locations in a French Blériot VIII, 40 horsepower.

The offer of the British newspaper led him to design a single-engine Anzani 25 horsepower. He made a voyage to test a cross, which lasts almost 37 minutes and gives the hope of winning.

The Blériot XI is ready for its creator to be the first attempt to cross the English Channel.

But rivals are trying to exploit and awarded the first prize.

Favorite Latham fails in his attempt when you turn off the engine of his plane and Antionette IV falls into the sea. The aristocratic Lambert crashes during a test.

Comes July 25, 1909.

Louis Blériot walk with the aid of crutches due to burns suffered in a walk in one of its flight tests.

Despite this disadvantage, the prevailing weather and the pleas of his wife Alice because desist, feels like its time and it invades the irrepressible desire to go back on the canal

The Blériot XI off to glory at 4:35 near the port of Calais. The low wind speed confirms that the pilot is expected and the opportunity to direct his monoplane the British coast.

Soon the boat leaves behind Escopette, which tries to escort Alice, foreseeing that his reckless husband might suffer an accident.

Without any navigation instrument, flying at 64 kilometers per hour and 76 meters on the choppy sea, Louis determined to overcome the moving barrier is unknown. In the ten minutes was in the middle of nowhere, alone and lost “he said later.

The engine is overheating of the monoplane, but the rain helps keep providential in an acceptable temperature and not fail.

Spend the time and the pilot currency summits near Dover, in a mixture of excitement and concern. We know close to achieving its purpose, but far from the planned landing site.

In this vital moment, the front is intended to prevent strong winds fame. Blériot flies against him and find a clear place in the countryside where he puts his airplane, but still the air battle over and over again impossible.

With determination, Louis gives rest to the 25 horsepower Anzani’s plane touches the ground and having witnessed the feat as two of his countrymen, as well as several British soldiers and a policeman.

Just 36 minutes were enough to Blériot became one of the most famous pioneers of aviation.

The trip on the English Channel, that July 25, 1909, marked indelibly on the future of the emerging global aviation. Contributed to multiply the efforts of designers, manufacturers and pilots to fly ever faster, higher and farther, as well as government and convince the public of the promising benefits of aviation.

Is that the legacy for the posterity of Louis Blériot. That the world pays worthy tribute to the centenary of his flight across the English Channel.

Centenary of the crossing of English Channel

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:42:41 +0000

On July 25 the fulfillment of a century since the French Louis Blériot crossed first achieved success with the English Channel aboard the Blériot XI, which has been restored for the exhibition opened in Paris in honor of the feat.

Research, technical and technological innovations associated with the French pilot is the main theme of the shows until October 18th organized by the Museum of Arts et Métiers, which since October 1909 has enabled the Blériot XI make the gesture.

Original objects related to the crossing and the industrial adventure of Louis Blériot (1872-1936), along with pictures and movies of the era, make up the exhibition, plus a flight simulator funded by the European consortium EADS, said the director of communication museum, Marie-Laetitia Bucchini.

Louis Blériot was able to cover the 38 kilometers separating England from mainland Europe, in response to the challenge launched by the British newspaper Daily Mail, which promised a prize of £ 1,000 who managed to pass through it.

With 37 years old when he had made the journey from Calais (France) and Dover (United Kingdom) in 37 minutes, Blériot, an engineer by profession, had already made a fortune through his business of automobile headlights, which enabled it to finance their aeronautical research.

Adventurous attitude combined with the prudence that showed a man of business, which made him “a unique figure of the time,” than his contemporaries pioneers of aviation, he said.

“His journey from English Channel marked the start of the industrialization of aviation”

The monoplane, designed by himself, can be observed in the sample to be suspended under the dome of the church museum Arts et Métiers, where he appreciates the difficulty crossing due to the fragility of the crude unit, 300 kilos of weight and only 8.5 meters long.

The structure of the Blériot XI, steel and wood, complete with curved wings, made of cloth and covered with rubber, for the design of which is believed to have sought help at the French engineer Gustave Eiffel, in addition to the propeller blade consists of two .

Created for the occasion, an aircraft flight simulator, one of the most important attractions of the exhibition, said the organization, you can observe and test the technical characteristics and the main conditions of the original pilot, and relive the experience of pilot French from the controls.

The celebrations of the centenary of the crossing of English Channel to extend the town of Cambrais (north), birthplace of Louis Blériot, which has organized several exhibitions and conferences to commemorate the saga of one of its more illustrious neighbors.

Aviation pioneer, Louis Blériot

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:47:45 +0000

We speak of an apparatus French aviation pioneer, Louis Blériot was its builder and completed its factory in Neuilly near Paris, is a monoplane that his drive was equipped with a motor of 28 hp REP had their peaks at about 60 km / h speed and a height of close to 80 meters, which was released at the International Aerospace Exhibition in Paris in 1908, although in fact it received its baptism in the air for months February 1909.

The English Daily Mail newspaper, in 1908 offered a prize of 500 pounds for the first aviator to reach across the English Channel (Calais) and in 1909 took up this offer and doubled their number, 1,000 pounds, which made it Several pilots attempted this feat, then so was flying over the peninsula area, it was not easy to try on the open sea, since they were very frequent engine failures and it was more advisable to view a landing at any seeding and receive aid rather than a amerizaje do not know where.

Eager to participate in this event is necessary to make changes in his Blériot XI, replace your original engine for a 25 hp Anzini propelling propeller Chauvierre, this new engine was built with a tricylinder holes in the walls of their cylinders at their most under the motion of the piston thus obtained are not overheating and improved leakage, it was getting an engine that will ensure at least 45 minutes to fly smoothly, as they felt that at that time could win this competition .

On June 26, 1909, a test of his new airplane and set a new European record of staying in flight with 36 minutes and 55 seconds. Convinced skills gained his plane moved to the town of Calais and on July 25 of that year, 04.35 hours when they were perceived that the wind speed and direction were correct as the flight begins , the same route out of the boat harbor “Escopette” that would support but little time and is only exceeded in the air by the waves of the Atlantic under their feet. Perceived overheating engine but a lucky rain helps to keep up. When you reach the 36 minutes of his journey in sight the peaks of Dover (England) made a final rectification of its course and landed on a plateau where he received two of his fellow soldiers and a policeman English. The prize was hers, had flown to 64 km / h and an altitude of 76 meters.

This airplane also noting other feats, the September 23, 1910 the Peruvian pilot of French origin Jorge Chavez managed to cross the Alps for the first time on a flight that originated in Brig (Switzerland) and a destination in Domodossola (Italy).

This model came to make no less than 5600 copies which gave the air units of France, England and other countries. Following the crossing of Calais by Louis Blériot, England found their weak defense by air.

Luois Blériot, history of an obsession

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:32:56 +0000

Blériot began his lifelong obsession with aviation when he visited a local exhibition and saw Clement Ader’s early, bat-wing shaped plane. Inspired by the strange looking craft, he began to build, test, and crash numerous planes of his own over the next nine years. Rather than follow one type of design for his planes, Blériot worked by trial and error – working first with gliders, then box-kite biplanes, and finally with monoplanes. By 1909, with his finances drained, Blériot finally produced a plane which didn’t immediately crash, the Blériot XI.

In a marketing ploy to increase its circulation, the “Daily Mail” newspaper of London offered a cash prize to the first pilot to fly across the English Channel – a risky proposition at the time. Blériot sensed this was his golden opportunity. Even though his plane had never run for more than 20 minutes – about half of the Channel’s 22-mile distance – the pilot remained undaunted.

Blériot had two fierce rivals for this title. The first was the daring Hubert Lathan, an Englishman who had made France his home. Loved by both the French as well as the English, he was favored to win. The other flyer, Charles de Lambert, was a Russian aristocrat with French roots – not to mention one of Wilbur Wright’s best students. In July of 1909, the three competitors each arrived on the shores of Calais, France. Lathan had arrived first and attempted a crossing on July 19th. Six miles from shore, though, he developed engine trouble and was forced to make a sea landing. Meanwhile, Lambert suffered a major crash of his own during a test flight, forcing him to withdraw from the race. Blériot, himself, experienced the misfortune of a badly burned foot when he a petrol line broke during one of his trial runs. But Blériot persevered.

Louis Blériot stands next to his plane after completing his historic crossing of the English Channel on July 25, 1909.

While Lathan was regrouping, Blériot watched the weather. At dawn on July 25th, he took off for England despite blustery winds and his injured foot. By the time Lathan’s camp realized that Blériot was not making a test run but attempting the crossing, it was too late to chase him. With no compass to guide him, Blériot beat the odds and managed to somehow successfully cross the Channel. He immediately gained worldwide fame. His rival, Hubert Lathan, even re-attempted Blériot’s flight four days later, only to again smash his plane into the ocean when the engine failed.

While Blériot’s flight was not the longest of its time, his achievement was nonetheless historic. His crossing captured the world’s attention and continued to popularize the field of aviation. After his famous flight, Blériot formed a plane company which became quite successful, first manufacturing copies of his Blériot XI, and later producing the S.P.A.D. fighter flown by the Allies during WWI. Louis Blériot would continue to make contributions to the field of aviation until his death on August 2, 1936.

Louis Blériot began his lifelong obsession with aviation when he visited a local exhibition and saw Clement Ader’s early, bat-wing shaped plane. Inspired by the strange looking craft, he began to build, test, and crash numerous planes of his own over the next nine years. Rather than follow one type of design for his planes, Blériot worked by trial and error – working first with gliders, then box-kite biplanes, and finally with monoplanes. By 1909, with his finances drained, Blériot finally produced a plane which didn’t immediately crash, the Blériot XI.

The “Daily Mail” newspaper of London offered a cash prize of 1000L to the first pilot to fly across the English Channel – a risky proposition at the time. Blériot sensed this was his golden opportunity. Even though his plane had never run for more than 20 minutes – about half of the Channel’s 22-mile distance – the pilot remained undaunted.

Blériot had two fierce rivals for this title. The first was the daring Hubert Lathan, an Englishman who had made France his home. Loved by both the French as well as the English, he was favored to win. The other flyer, Charles de Lambert, was a Russian aristocrat with French roots. In July of 1909, the three competitors each arrived on the shores of Calais, France. Lathan had arrived first and attempted a crossing on July 19th. Six miles from shore, though, he developed engine trouble and was forced to make a sea landing. Meanwhile, Lambert suffered a major crash of his own during a test flight, forcing him to withdraw from the race. Blériot, himself, experienced the misfortune of a badly burned foot when he a petrol line broke during one of his trial runs. But Blériot persevered.

Louis Blériot stands next to his plane after completing his historic crossing of the English Channel on July 25, 1909.

While Blériot’s flight was not the longest of its time, his achievement was nonetheless historic. His crossing captured the world’s attention and continued to popularize the field of aviation. After his famous flight, Blériot formed a plane company which became quite successful, first manufacturing copies of his Blériot XI, and later producing the S.P.A.D. fighter flown by the Allies during WWI. Louis Blériot would continue to make contributions to the field of aviation until his death on August 2, 1936.

Cross the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing

admin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:23:43 +0000

A Swiss adventurer will today make a record-breaking attempt to become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing.

First man cross channel in jet

Yves Rossy, known as Fusionman, will jump from a plane more than 8,200ft (2,500m) above ground, then fire up jets on his homemade wing and soar across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
The 49 year old is hoping to make the flight from Calais to Dover just after 1pm BST after suffering a setback earlier this week when poor weather conditions postponed his attempt by a day.

Rossy, a former military pilot, aims to trace the route of French aviation pioneer Louis Bleriot, who became the first person to fly across the Channel in a plane 100 years ago.

Flying at speeds approaching 125mph, it is expected that the 22-mile televised flight across the Channel should take Rossy around 12 minutes to complete.

To achieve the feat, Rossy must overcome significant challenges, not least the container ships that will be passing through the sea.

In an interview earlier this week, he said: “If I calculate everything right, I will land in Dover. But if I get it wrong, I take a bath.”

Rossy – a pilot with Swiss International Air Lines -will review safety measures before take-off in Calais, especially important as his jet-propelled wing needs to be ignited while still inside the plane.

He has never flown for longer than 10 minutes. And his wing weight and measurements must be incredibly precise, with even the addition of a tiny camera possibly affecting how long he can stay in the air.

Over the past few months, he has been fine-tuning the wing’s design and performance and carried out several test flights in wind tunnels and the Swiss Alps.
His wing weighs about 55kg with fuel and includes four simple, kerosene-burning jet turbines to keep him airborne.

Created from a lightweight carbon composite, the wing has no steering devices, meaning Rossy will have to use his head and back to control the wing’s movement.

He will be outfitted with a special suit, helmet and parachute as part of the precautions to protect him from the jet turbines mounted just centimetres from him on the wing.

If the weather conditions turn out to be poor, another attempt at the crossing will take place tomorrow.

National Geographic Channel will broadcast the flight live around the world except France, Canada and Switzerland and will stream it live online at http://www.natgeotv.com/jetman

video Fly Bleriot Replica

admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:28:00 +0000

On July 25 th, 2009 The aircraft in the video you are going to see will attempt to duplicate the flight Louis Bleriot made 100 years ago on the same date.

The first crossing of the English Channel by an aircraft.