Barry Melek Electric Train Sets

Bay Cylindrical

First Flight Across the English Channel with the Bleriot XI Monoplane

              Great Britain, always disconnected from the European continent because of its insularity, had only been reachable by sea until 1785, at which time the first balloon had successfully crossed the English Channel by air.  By 1908, 35 other aerial balloon crossings had been completed, but none had been made with heavier-than-air craft.  That had been about to change, and the feat would fully equal the many epic, record-breaking flights now firmly impressed in the annals of aviation history, such as the transcontinental flight made by Calbraith Rogers in 1911 with the Vin Fiz Flyer and the solo transatlantic crossing by Charles Lindbergh in 1927 with the Ryan Monoplane nicknamed Spirit of St. Louis.

               Sparked by the London Daily Mail’s 500 British pound challenge issued on October 5, 1908, an amount later doubled, the event had sought “the person who shall succeed in flying across the English Channel from a point on English soil to a point on French soil, or vice-versa” in a heavier-than-air craft without stopping.

               Although Wilbur and Orville Wright had been perceived as the only two capable of the feat, their involvement with aircraft sales-pursuing demonstrations had precluded their participation, despite a significantly increased prize offer, and Hubert Latham, who had spent two years in the French Army and had already successfully crossed the Channel in an aerial balloon, had been the first to accept the challenge.  Having already earned a French duration record and a world record for monoplanes for the one-hour, seven-minute, 37-second flight in his Antoinette IV on June 5, 1909, he had intended to make the crossing with this aircraft, taking off from cliffs at Sangatte, a village six miles from Calais, where he had set up a rudimentary camp.  French destroyers and crane-equipped tugboats would follow his course.

                Count Charles de Lambert, a second contender and Wilbur Wright’s first student pilot in France, intended to make the journey with Wright aircraft, but of his two machines, one had been damaged during a test flight and the other had not been readied in time for the event.

                Latham had suffered a similar fate.  Fighting strong winds during a July 13 crossing attempt, he had been forced to land in a corn patch, severing the right strut and wheel of his aircraft, while a second attempt, six days later, had resulted in an engine failure-caused water landing near the French destroyer following him.  The airplane, now too damaged for anything but a lengthy rebuild, had to be substituted by the Antoinette VII, although at least a week had been needed to prepare it for flight.

                It had been at this time that a third contender, Louis Bleriot, had entered the race with his own design, the Bleriot XI, a smaller, though not dissimilar aircraft to the Antoinette.  Incorporating several features already introduced by his earlier aircraft and therefore representing the latest in a series of evolutions, it had sported a primarily open, box-frame fuselage; a small engine; fabric-covered, pylon-supported wings; wing-warping mechanisms; an open cockpit; the cloche method of actuating both the wing-warping and the elevators; and a tri-wheel undercarriage.

                The rounded-tip wings, with an 8.53-meter span, a 1.83-meter chord, a 4.65 aspect ratio, and a 13.95-square-meter area, had been attached to the poplar fuselage, their trailing edges differentially warped to induce in-flight banking.  The 25-hp, three-cylinder, V-shaped, air-cooled Anzani engine, replacing the original seven-cylinder REP semi-radial, sported a 2.08-meter wooden propeller which produced 105 kilos of thrust at 1,450 revolutions-per-minute.

                The horizontal tail, comprised of a fixed, center section with elevating tips, had been built round a steel tube bolted to the fuselage underside by cast aluminum fittings, while the rudder, positioned 13 inches behind it, extended above the fuselage.

                The undercarriage had been comprised of two main, fixed wheels which swung on links to cater to cross-wind ground conditions and absorbed landing impacts by means of elastic springs, and a single, castering tail wheel.

                First flying on January 23, 1909 at Issy, France, and covering a 200-meter distance, the Bleriot XI, with its characteristic forward bedstead frame built up of two ash horizontal beams, two vertical beams, and two vertical tubes to provide engine and landing gear mounts, took to the air for a second time the following month on February 18, with a two-square-meter larger wing.

                Louis Bleriot himself had set up his camp on a farm at Les Barraques so that he could use its flat pasture as a runway.

                On July 23, de Lambert became the third pilot to officially enter the race, but of the three, he had been impeded by his still-unprepared aircraft while the other two had been hindered by the weather.

                Diminishing winds and clearing skies on July 25, however, indicated cross-Channel flight potential, and Bleriot, having already awakened early, warmed his engine by 0400, before making a 15-minute practice circuit and relanding.

                As the sun triumphed over night 35 minutes later, Bleriot prepared himself to triumph over flight, climbing into the fabric-covered monoplane and throwing to the ground the crutches he had used to help him walk after a prior flight fuel tank explosion had burned his left foot.  “If I cannot walk, I will show the world I can fly!” he had proclaimed.

                The sun inched above Calais Castle.

                After oil had been added to the aircraft’s 25-hp engine and its 17-liter fuel tank had been topped off, Anzani, maker of the powerplant which bore his name, turned the wooden propeller and the five men holding the tail down released it when Bleriot had commanded, “Let’s go!”

                Throttling into 1,200 revolutions-per-minute of power, Bleriot accelerated his airplane over the grass toward the sand and the open Channel, gateway to England and aeronautical history, pulling back on the cloche and separating its two still-spinning, bicycle-like wheels from French soil, as if they continued to ride some invisible, aerial track.

                Surmounting the telegraph wires, the aircraft climbed to 180 feet, inching out over the water body which had generated the challenge.  Reducing power, it leveled off at 260 feet and maintained a 43-mph airspeed.

                The French destroyer, Escopette, intended to provide flight following and carrying journalists and Bleriot’s wife, moved into view.  Seeing the propeller-pulled object in the sky amid the cylindrical sun’s ascent above the horizon, she yelled, “Mon Dieu!  There he is!”  as her husband gracefully passed overhead on fabric wings which had created a 260-foot-high aerial bridge between landmasses, creating the lift for which they had been designed.  But the speed, one-and-a-half times greater than that of the ship’s lumbering 26, had rendered it a far superior opponent and it quickly overtook it.

                Attempting to make a wide circle in order to remain in sight, Bleriot quickly realized that his aircraft had been demonstrating its intrinsic speed and distance advantage over the water-plying vessel.  Its intended directional aid toward England, alas, could not be used.

                Relaxing his grip on the cloche, Bleriot permitted the aircraft he himself had designed to find its own way across the water.

                Completely disconnected from soil and soul after ten minutes aloft, with neither coast ahead nor coast behind visible, he felt “alone, unguided, without compass, in the air over the middle of the Channel.”

                The wind had begun to regain its strength.  The 25-hp Anzani engine, apparently overheating from its continuous-power output, suddenly sputtered and the airplane nudged itself out of its artificial plateau toward the Channel’s waves and whitecaps.  Boring through a rainsquall, whose pelting douse of cool water ironically nourished the powerplant of its needs, the aircraft regained even, altitude-holdng power.

                Wrestling with wind and fog, it fought its way to England.  A long gray line, rising above the horizon and representing its destination, appeared ahead, but it did not resemble Dover.  The southwest wind had diverted the frail bird to St. Margaret’s Bay instead, yet the Dover Lighthouse, rising prominently in the west, had marked the location of the castle, and Bleriot banked left toward it, penetrating strong headwinds and paralleling the coast at a one-mile distance. 

                Following the presumably harbor-approaching channel boats, Bleriot spotted reporter Charles Fontaine waiving the promised French tricolor to mark the entrance over Shakespeare Cliff of North Foreland Meadow, itself next to Dover Castle.

                Completing a half-circle above the Channel, Bleriot initiated his approach to England—and history.  Threading its way between the gap and passing over land for the first time in more than half an hour, the aircraft banked to avoid red buildings on its right, but it had been clenched by the fist of low-level turbulence and winds, which had thrice spun it round, rendering it uncontrollable.  "At once, I stop my motor,” Bleriot had later stated, “and instantly my machine falls straight upon the land from a height of 65 feet.  In two or three seconds, I am safe upon your shore,” although the airplane’s propeller and landing gear had sustained damage.

                Latham, still asleep on the continent which Bleriot had just bridged, did not fly at all that day and had to accept defeat.  Although he had made the attempt two days later, he had once again plunged into the Channel when his engine had failed and he had sustained injuries.

                Because of the historical event, the Bleriot XI, which had been offered in training, sport, military, and racing versions with varying dimensions, wingspans, engines, horsepower ratings, and capacities, had attracted over 800 worldwide sales, having been the most massively produced pre-war monoplane.

                Although the relatively short, 23-mile distance between Les Barraques in France and North Foreland Meadow in England had been covered in 36½ minutes, the flight’s effects had been disproportionally long.  For England, geographically protected and isolated by its surrounding Channel, its insularity had ended.  For France, it had bred the designer, aircraft, and pilot which had triumphed over that Channel.  And for the world, it had meant that the airplane, increasingly able to connect countries and continents, had paved the way toward unlimited future civil and military application.

About the Author

A graduate of Long Island University-C.W. Post Campus with a summa-cum-laude BA Degree in Comparative Languages and Journalism, I have subsequently earned the Continuing Community Education Teaching Certificate from the Nassau Association for Continuing Community Education (NACCE) at Molloy College, the Travel Career Development Certificate from the Institute of Certified Travel Agents (ICTA) at LIU, and the AAS Degree in Aerospace Technology at the State University of New York – College of Technology at Farmingdale. Having amassed almost three decades in the airline industry, I managed the New York-JFK and Washington-Dulles stations at Austrian Airlines, created the North American Station Training Program, served as an Aviation Advisor to Farmingdale State University of New York, and devised and taught the Airline Management Certificate Program at the Long Island Educational Opportunity Center. A freelance author, I have written some 70 books of the short story, novel, nonfiction, essay, poetry, article, log, curriculum, training manual, and textbook genre in English, German, and Spanish, having principally focused on aviation and travel, and I have been published in book, magazine, newsletter, and electronic Web site form. I am a writer for Cole Palen’s Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York. I have made some 350 lifetime trips by air, sea, rail, and road.

A Cylindrical Box $34.99 A Cylindrical Box - Giclee Print

HM-060-Z-12 cylindrical pin holder $9 HM-060-Z-12 cylindrical pin holder

Gauss's Law: Cylindrical Symmetry - $34.99 Gauss's Law: Cylindrical Symmetry -

Assyrian Cylindrical Seal $19.99 Assyrian Cylindrical Seal - Giclee Print

Anaximander's Cylindrical Earth $39.99 Anaximander's Cylindrical Earth - Giclee Print

Cylindrical bales of hay $19.99 Cylindrical bales of hay - Photographic Print

Cylindrical Futuristic French City $39.99 Cylindrical Futuristic French City - Giclee Print

Cylindrical Altar Depicting the Sacrifice of Alceste $49.99 Cylindrical Altar Depicting the Sacrifice of Alceste - Giclee Print

Justrite® Cylindrical Storage Tube $37.59 Cylindrical storage tube is perfect for storing MSDS, inventory checklists, operator manuals, emrgency contacts, certificates and more. Justrite® cylindrical storage tube with twist-on lid is 12-1/2"h x 3-11/16"dia.

View of the Steep Cylindrical Marang Mountains $39.99 Carsten Peter View of the Steep Cylindrical Marang Mountains - Photographic Print

Grid Vase Cylindrical $550 Jaime Hayon's Grid Vase Cylindrical is made of hand crafted metal. Offered in Copper and Silver finishes. From the Turkish design house of Gaia&Gino.

Home Décor Floor Lamp with Cylindrical Linen Design $165.9 Home Décor Floor Lamp with Cylindrical Linen Design

The Bay $20.99 Track Listing: 1. Bay Part 1, The, 2. Bay Part 2, The

Bay $44.99 Beth Wintgens Bay - Giclee Print

On the Bay $9.99 Daniel Pollera On the Bay - Art Print

In the Bay $34.99 Pierre Doutreleau In the Bay - Art Print

By the Bay $34.99 Catherine Hazard By the Bay - Giclee Print

Grid Cylindrical Pendant Light $165 Design by Dawn Ladd and Rachel Simon. By George Kovacs. The Gridrade; pendant light is a cylindrical steel form with a unique perforated grid pattern. Available in brushed nickel with an internal white diffuser.

Cylindrical Antennas and Arrays $102 This book explains how to design, analyse and test cylindrical antenna arrays from a practical engineering standpoint. Written by three of the leading engineers in the field, this book is destined to become established as the basic reference in the field for many years to come.

Cylindrical Flashing Amber Light $99.89 Cylindrical flashing amber lights call extra attention to barricades can be seen from any angle. 5" dia. x 6"h Cylindrical flashing amber light allows 360 degree visibility and includes mounting bolt and wrench. Lexan lenses attach to molded plastic base with a transistorized circuit and concealed on/off switch. Call extra attention to your barricades and traffic safety.

Hanalei Bay Pendant by Forecast Lighting $198 The Forecast Lighting Hanalei Bay Pendant utilizes organic materials like bamboo that will provide an ethnic charm and beauty to your contemporary home settings. The Hanalei Bay Pendant features a bamboo shade, clear glass and a deep Merlot Bronze finish. Dedicated to seeking customer feedback, Forecast Lighting has generated distinctive lighting designs that clearly stand out in a crowded marketplace. Founded in Southern California in the early 1970s as Forecast Lightolier, this unique lighting company has an in-house design team that travels the world to identify materials and trends that will ultimately result in extraordinary lighting for the home and office. The Forecast Lighting Hanalei Bay Pendant is available with the following: Details:Cylindrical Clear outer glass shadeCylindrical Bamboo inner shadeMetal hardwareMerlot Bronze finishRound ceiling canopyPart of the Organic Modern collection, featuring natural, sustainable materialsUL ListedOptions:Size: Large, or Small (shown).Lighting:Large option utilizes one 75 Watt 120 Volt Medium Base Incandescent lamp (not included).Small option utilizes one 40 Watt 120 Volt Medium Base Incandescent lamp (not included).Shipping: This item usually ships within 1-2 weeks. Dimensions: Small Fixture: Width 5 In., Height 10 In., Overall Height 130 In. Large Fixture: Width 8 In., Overall Height 68 In., Height 16 In.

Bay, Bay Laurel, Sweet Bay $39.99 Bay, Bay Laurel, Sweet Bay - Giclee Print

Vibrations of Thick Cylindrical Structures $129 Due to strong potential applications and more demanding requirements imposed upon long and thick cylindrical structures, there has been research and development activities in the field of vibration and passive vibration control of these types of structures. This book addresses these problems by applying the theory of elasto-dynamics.

Cylindrical Socket, Median or Early Achaemenian Period $49.99 Cylindrical Socket, Median or Early Achaemenian Period - Giclee Print

Fern Glass, Cut Honeycomb Cylindrical, Yellow-Green $34.99 Fern Glass, Cut Honeycomb Cylindrical, Yellow-Green - Giclee Print

Wand Cylindrical Pointed End, Engraved on Two Sides $39.99 Wand Cylindrical Pointed End, Engraved on Two Sides - Giclee Print