Pilot celebrates Bleriot journey

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A pilot has flown an original Bleriot monoplane over the English Channel on his second attempt - a day after the centenary of the first flight.

Swede Mikael Carlson had planned to cross from Calais to Dover on Saturday evening but it was too windy.

He arrived at the Duke of York's Royal Military School in Dover just before 0900 BST, after a 33-minute flight.

Frenchman Edmond Salis flew over in a replica Bleriot plane to mark Louis Bleriot's 1909 feat early on Saturday.

Speaking following his landing on Sunday, Mr Carlson said it had been a lovely flight.

The flight by Bleriot was one of the most important flights that's ever been done Mikael Carlson

"We were so lucky with the weather as we had a tail wind when we took off from Calais.

"It worked very well after what happened yesterday, which was frustrating.

"Of course, it was a disappointment, it was a big black cloud hanging over us, but we've now done the flight," he said.

Mr Carlson also paid tribute to Bleriot's past achievement.

"The flight by Bleriot was one of the most important flights that's ever been done, alongside the Wright Brothers and the journey to the Moon.

Plane on display

"Bleriot's flight was exceptional in those days. He was the first to cross the Channel, he wrote history and opened people's eyes."

The cross-Channel attempts were part of a weekend of events in Dover to mark the aviation milestone.

Following the feat, retailer and aviation enthusiast Harry Gordon Selfridge arranged for Bleriot's monoplane to be displayed in his newly-opened Selfridges store in Oxford Street

Mr Carlson's Bleriot XI - found in a barn in the 1980s before being restored - will go on public display at the London shop on Monday, and will remain there until 2 August.