New-York tribune., 1909-07-26
BLERIOT'S FLIGHT
ACROSS CHANNEL
CALAIS-UOVER TRIP MADE
IN THIRTY MINUTES.
AUerdge Speed OUer IS Niles an
Hour-Machine Slightly Dam
aged Wins Prize of 81 900.

| auon when at sunrise this morning a white
/ WINGED. birdlike machine with loudly hurlrninS
motor. swept out from the haze obscuring the
sea toward the distant French coast. and cir
/ cling twice above the high chalkv cliffs OF
Dover, slghted on English sill calm French
man, Louis Bleriot. pOTtiy and rel moustached
man of thirty-seven. descended from the saddle
! limping a bandaged foot which had been
| burned on his previous overland flight Irlrne-
dtately two cOmpatriots. who had been waving
| Dig tricolor flag as a signal for the landing
place, fell upon him enthusiastically. embracing
him. shouting and pounding him on the back
! They. with few soldiers and others Who hap
pened by chance to be the scene. were the
only persons to witness the finish OF most re-
markable feat.
BIeriot left Les Baraques. three miles from
Calais about 4:3O q. m. Of the smallest
mOnOplanes ever used He crossed the Channel
in a little less than half hour. twice
swiftly as the fastest mail boat. His speed
averaged more than forty-f n,ies hour;
sometimes it approximated sixty miles He
kept about two hundred and fifty feet above the
sea level and for ten minutes. while about mid
Channel. out of sight of both coasts and the
French destroyer which followed him with his
wife and friends board.
The wind was blowing about twenty miles an
hour and the sea was chOppy. The aviator was
swathed in a single garment of drilling. imper-
4
top of his head to his feet. only his face show
| Ing. He also cork life belt
GRACEFUL LANDING MADE
An eyewitness Of the landing thus describes It:
VERY early IN the morning wireless message
was received from Calais that Bleriot intended
to make the fight Then in quick succession
came the news that he had left land. that he
was flying high and was fast making Dover II
I ed that he
but from the direction taken it was soon evident
that he would allght to the eastward Only a
few minutes afrer the wireless announcing the
start the Iaconic message, "OUt Of sight, was
received at Dover Hardly had this been trans
cribed when .he keen eyed coastguard- scanning
the sea with his telescope. shouted that Bleriot
was within sight.
Fastening 10 the cliff east Of the bay. was
fortunate enough to arrive just moment before
the afrship which was flying fast. Ike a gigan-
tic hawk The craft approached the cliff. grow
ing larger every instant. The noise Of the en-
/ gines was audible in a moment. so swiftly did
/ IT come Bleriot sWooped overhead. gIancins
/ from right TO eft and then turned his machi1s
/ TO the east and came TO ne ground IN the
/ meadow. Il circled with consUmmate ease and
made the landing gracefully, but even though il
touched the land lightly it was slightly dam
aged
BY his achievement NJ. B1eriot the prize
of $4,000 offered by The London Daily Mali
for the first light across the English Channel.
and stole a march on his rivals. Hubert Latham
and Count de Lambert both Of whom had hoped
TO make tie attempt to-day
THE AERONAUT DESCRIBES FLIGHT.
NJ BIeriot who speaks a little English, de-
scribed his remarkable flight very mOdestly.
Il arose at o'clock" he said "and went to
the aeropIane shed Finding everything IN or
der on the trial spin. 1 decided 70 make the
flight. The French destroyer. which was in at
tendance was signalled. and IL put out about
four miles. Then 1 arose in the air and pointed
directly to Dover. After ten minutes was out
of sight of land and had left the warship weH
behind. For a few minutes / could not see
either coast. or any boat tried 70 keep at an
average height of 80 feet. I might easily have
gone higher but it would have served no pur-
pose This was about the right height.
thought. to clear the Dover cliffs safely
The machine dipped toward the water sew
eraI times I put more petrol once l ssti-
mated that the propellers were going from 1,2OO
TO 1 400 revolutions a minute The first objects
saw were ships off the English coast: then
observed Deal. and I discovered that the wind.
which was southwest. was carrying thither-
l veered TO the southwark. to Dover Castle, ard
then saw friends fOurishing flag in a valley
suitable for landing I made two circles while
Iessening the speed. and then dived down. but
came in contact with the ground sooner than
expected. Both the machine and myself were
badly shaken.
"A few persons quickly assembled and was
helped out, my injured foot painful. I
am exceedingly glad TO be here"
NJ. BIeriots friends took him quickly in an
automobile To the old Lord Warden Hotel near
the pier from which mail boats depart In the
mean time his wife arrived the destroyer.
She embraced him. weeping. but they were soon
sitting at breakfast the centre of a proud gath
ering of French people. The Mayor and other
Dover officials called early and welcomed NJ
BleriOt in the name Of the city and nation
the pioneer of international flight.
PEOPLE OF DOVER CAUGHT MAPPING.
The townspeOpIe of Dover. who for thres
weeks have been on the alert for the signal an
nouncng that one Of the flying men had started.
were caught mapping A gale was blowing last
night and the weather forecasts promised a
strong wind and squalls in ,he morning Hence
the operators of the sirens on the steamers.
which il had been arranged should be blown
when the flyer started. were absent from their
nosts Only a few persons received the wireless
warning of BIeriot's ascent
NJ TafOntaine. a friend of the aviator, ar
rived at the Lord Warden Hotel from Calais
at midnight. He declined bedroom. with the
.r,-ntic remark that he had an appointment 10
-. NJ I2Ieriot at O'Clock. The hotel people
Thought the mysterious stranger was joking
NJ Iafontaine went first TO the spot which the
newspaper under whose auspices the flight was
made had chosen. on the high ground back OF
the city but selected cUp-shaped depression,
called the NorthfaH Meadow. two miles east OF
Dover. where the airship would be sheltered
r-rrN- ~Neg