Louis Blériot
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Louis Blériot (July 1, 1872 – August 2, 1936) was a French inventor and engineer. He performed the first flight over a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft.
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[edit] 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 early aircraft designed 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 aircraft designs.
[edit] 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 Aviation et ses Derives (better known as SPAD) manufacturing thousands of Allied planes in World War I.
[edit] A Modern-Day Homage to Louis Blériot
- In 2006, Rivendell Bicycle Works introduced a model named the "Bleriot." It features a portrait of Louis Blériot prominently displayed on the seat tube.
[edit] See also
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