Discover

'Louis Blériot' (July 1 1872 – August 2 1936) was a French inventor and engineer. In 1909 he achieved the first flight over a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft when he crossed the English Channel.

Contents

Early years

The Channel and beyond

See also

External links

Early years

Born in Cambrai, Louis Blériot studied engineering at the École Centrale Paris. His interest in aviation manifested itself when, in 1900, he built an ornithopter, a type of aircraft which attempts to use wing-flapping to achieve flight.
Blériot and collaborator Gabriel Voisin formed the Blériot-Voisin Company. Active between 1903 and 1906, the company developed several unsuccessful aircraft designs.

The Channel and beyond

After years of honing his piloting skills, Blériot decided to go after the coveted thousand-pound prize offered by the London ''Daily Mail'' for a successful crossing of the English Channel. On July 25, 1909 he flew the twenty-two statute miles (35 km) from Les Barraques (near Calais) to Dover in his Blériot XI. The trip took forty minutes.
Afterwards, Blériot became a successful businessman, with his ''Société Pour l'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (better known as SPAD) manufacturing thousands of Allied planes in World War I.

Louis was also known to have created the sport of air racing.
In 2006, Rivendell Bicycle Works introduced a model named the "Bleriot." It features a portrait of Louis Blériot prominently displayed on the seat tube.

See also

★ List of early flying machines

★ First flying machine

External links

★ US Centennial of Flight Commission: Louis Blériot

★ Louis Charles-Joseph Blériot flight and plane information (photos and videos)

★ A Daring Flight - Homepage to the NOVA TV episode