LOUIS BLERIOT 1872 - 1936

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25th July 1909

Louis Bleriot flew his monoplane from Calais to Dover.

He was the first aviator to make this historic 22 mile crossing, in just over 36 minutes and he wrecked the plane on landing.

To commemorate this 'trans manche' achievement, Paul and Karen Rennie have produced a limited edition screenprint,

depicting the man and his flying machine. It is available at a price of £25 + £5 postage.

contact: info@rennart.co.uk

This is a copy of our limited edition print with signatures of the Bleriot family and various dignataries present at the

commemorative centenary flight, Dover 2009.

BLERIOT was a wealthy enthusiast. He had made his fortune from the manufacture of automobile lights and had learned

engineering at the Ecole Centrale Paris.

With no concern for his own safety, he tested his own planes personally, and his attempts nearly always ended in crashes!

Over the next eight years he built ten planes which were all failures. Then, in 1908 the Daily Mail newspaper offered a cash

prize of £1000 to the first person to complete the flight across the Channel. By then Bleriot had spent all his money and was

bankrupt.

CHANGE OF FORTUNE...

In a bizarre turn of fate, Bleriot's wife rescued a boy falling off a balcony of a Paris appartment block. The grateful father offered

to fund Bleriot's latest experiment. This turned out to be BLERIOT Xl.

with it's 25 horsepower engine and wind warping mechanism derived from Wright Brothers.

After the flight, the 'rescued' Bleriot Xl monoplane was exhibited by the enterprising store Selfridges in London.

150,000 people visited the exhibit.

Worldwide acclaim followed his successful flight and led to Bleriot's plane factory. From 1909 to the outbreak of WWl in 1914,

Bleriot produced more than 800 aircraft. Most of these were variations of the Type Xl model.

He opened flying schools at Brooklands, Surrey, and Hendon aerodromes.

The Federation Aeronautique Internationale, since 1936 have awarded the Louis Bleriot medal up to 3 times a year to record setters

in speed, altitude and distance in light aircraft, in honour of the pioneer of the sport of air racing.

Bleriot memorial Dover - original postcard dated 1916

£10

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47 the old high street

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kent ct20 1rn

(01303) 242427 or (0)7986 834084 anytime

info@rennart.co.uk