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HISTO BLERIOT
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11 mars 2012

100 YEARS AGO LOUIS BLERIOT.

The importance of Louis Blériot's successfull 37 minutes flight over the English Channel, from Calais to Dover, cannot be overestimaked. Indeed,the achievement was recognised by the British Monarch, King Edward VII. The voyage's unique succès should be measured not only by the deserved acclaim that he receved upon landing, but also by the subsequent impact on world politics and military plannings.The then British government,for exemple,came to the starling realisation that our island was susceptible to enemy attack other than from the sea.

Indeed, only five years later,the realisation came true, when a German pilot dropped the first-ever aerial bomb over Dover.(A plaque commemorates the spot where the bomb fell, and where a man was blown out of an apple tree, by the blast.)

Politicians saw that Britain was not prepared for this new transportation system and its new technologiy. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that flying machines were no longer toys and dreams and that the possibilities provided by this new system of locomotion were infinite.

How right he was! Bleriot's unique achievement has so impacted on aeronautical science and development ever since,that we can now all fly whenever and wherever we wish.

Further, only sixty years his unique triumph,man flew to the moon. Bleriot's achievement, like that of fellow pioneer Neil Armstrong,was truly " a small step for man, but a giant leap for mankind ".We are all indebted to him for his triumph over the angry seas of the English Channel.

Dover is twinned with Calais and we enjoy a harmonious and fruit-ful relationship. It is therefore totally fitting that the celebrate the Entente Cordialer with our French neighbours, as we enjoy this sit and the festivities planned for the historic centenary. A memorial in the form of a stone silhouette of Bleriot's plane is set into the ground at the place where he landed, near Dover Castle, on the famous White Clifffs. Part of the Centenary Commemoration will involve improvements to the monument. The landing area has been visited by many thousands of people,since that historic landing. The improvements and upgrading will ensure that many thousands more will benefit in the years to come. Let us look back one hundred years. Blériot had decided to try to win the coveted thousand-pound prize offered by the London Daily Mail, for the first successful air-crossing of the English Channel. He had two main rivals.The favourite was Englishman Hubert Latham.His abortive attempt,on 19 July of that year,failed six miles from Dover,as engine trouble forced a sea landing. The other rival pilot was a Russian, Charles de Lambert,who , injured during a test flight, was forced out of contention. Blériot, himself, arrived for his historic mission with a badly burned foot, caused by a gasoline leak, during one of is trial runs.

For his epic flight into history, Bleriot's flimsy transport comprised an ash fuselage with supporting struts, with wooden shoulder-mounted wing ,strengthened by and wire ties. His two-bladed wooden propeller was of fixed-pitch design.

For his crossing, his average airspeed was around 40 miles (64km) per hour, and his flight altitude about 250 feet(76 m). As he had no compass, bad weather meant that for a time he was flying blind. He landed in turbulent conditions, cutting the engine 20 feet above the ground. Rain and strong winds had endangered his life and his success, but he overcame the elements to archieve this historic first.

Like all true heroes, he is an inspiration to us all.He chased and achieved his dream, against insurmountable odds.

It is an interesting historical footnote that Dover Customs Officials had no provision for arrival into the country, other than by ship. Accordingly, Blériot was logged in as a ship's Master, with his Bleriot XI plane registered as a yacht.

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