A replica of the first plane flown across the English Channel has been built and sent into the skies over Wisconsin. A team of volunteers spent thousands of hours recreating a Bleriot XI aircraft, which was used in 1909 for that first Channel flight. The team even used an original three-cylinder Anzani engine.
This Bleriot XI replica flew only a few seconds, covering the pilot’s glasses with oil while airborne. It will be on display this summer at the Airventure aviation show in Oshkosh, Wis. There are no plans to fly it, but the engine will be started occasionally.
Click the player below to see Bleriot XI video from 2003.
it’s a very nice plane the start-up sounds great