In 1908 Lord Northcliffe offered a prize of &1000 to the first man who would fly across the English Channel. Over a year passed before the first attempt was made. On July 19th, 1909, in the early morning, Hubert Latham took off from the French coast in his plane the 'Antoinette IV'. He had travelled only seven miles across the Channel when his engine failed and he was forced to land on the sea. The 'Antoinette' floated on the water until Latham was picked up by a ship.

    Two days later, Louis Bleriot arrived near Calais with a plane called 'No. XI'. Bleriot had been making planes since 1905 and this was his latest model. A week before, he had completed a successful overland flight during which he covered twenty-six miles. Latham, however did not give up easily. He, too, arrived near Calais on the same day with a new 'Antonette'. It looks as if there would be an exciting race across the Channel. Both planes were going to take off on July 25th, but Latham failed to get up early enough. After making a short test flight at 4.15 a.m., Bleriot set off half an hour later. His GREat flight lasted thirty seven minutes. When he landed near Dover, the first person to greet him was a local policeman. Latham made another attempt a week later and got within half a mile of Dover, but he was unlucky again. His engine failed and he landed on the sea for the second time.

    1908年，諾斯克利夫勛爵拿出1000英鎊，作為對第一個飛越英吉利海峽的人的獎勵。然而一年多過去了才有人出來嘗試。1909年7月19日凌晨，休伯特·萊瑟姆駕駛“安特瓦奈特4號”飛機從法國海岸起飛，但他只在海峽上空飛行了7英里，引擎就發(fā)生了故障，他只好降落在海面上。“安特瓦奈特”號飛機在海上漂浮，后來有船經(jīng)過，萊瑟姆方才獲救。

    兩天之后，路易斯·布萊里奧駕駛一架名為“11號”的飛機來到加來附近。布萊里奧從1905年起便開始研制飛機，“11號”飛機是他制作的最新型號。一周以前，他曾成功地進行了一次26英里的陸上飛行。但是萊瑟姆不肯輕易罷休。同一天，他駕駛一架新的“安特瓦奈特”號飛機來到了加來附近。看來會有一場激烈的飛越英吉利海峽的競爭。兩架飛機都打算在7月25日起飛，但萊瑟姆那天起床晚了。布萊里奧凌晨4點15分作了一次短距離試飛，半小時后便正式出發(fā)了。他這次偉大的飛行持續(xù)了37分鐘。當他在多佛著陸后，第一個迎接他的是當?shù)匾幻�警察。萊瑟姆一周以后也作了一次嘗試，飛到了離多佛不到半英里的地方。這次他又遭厄運，因引擎故障第二次降落在海面上。