Horological Meandering

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Bremont and Blériot

A hundred years ago this year, an innovation in flight took place. For the first time a pilot would fly across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft. Louis Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer, a serial entrepreneur, and someone who manufactured and who would test fly his own aircraft (at his own considerable risk) decided to go for the £1000 first prize for flying the English Channel offered by the Daily Mail. On 25 July 1909, at sunrise, Blériot flying his Blériot IX (all the other Blériot aircraft were in repair!) took off from near Calais heading for Dover. Outpacing the French Navy escort, and with bad weather closing in (at one point Blériot declared he could see nothing, he was all alone), Blériot just made it. The 33 mile flight had taken just 37 minutes. The successful flight led to fame and (a new) fortune for Blériot who took to manufacturing his own planes.









The Centenary of that flight is in about 2 weeks time. To commemorate the flight, one of the original Blériot IX machines still in flying order will attempt to recreate the flight. The flight is being sponsored by Bremont and a chap called Mikael Carlson is the ‘lucky’ individual who will attempt the flight. Much will depend on the variable weather conditions. The Blériot IX is, at best, a fragile flying machine. In fact, to me, it looked held together by sticks, glue, and paper; to that, bolt on an engine that vibrates radically (and burns one litre of oil for every 2 litres of gasoline), also bolt on some old pram wheels for landing gear, and voila, an aeroplane! The pilot gets a nice clear view of the scenery as he has to effectively sit on top of the fuselage! I truly wish Mikael the very best of luck and hope that he gets to fly, and that he lands safely (as Blériot did) on the other side.

An interesting footnote to history; Blériot’s plane, once on English soil, was then shipped off to the newly opened department store on Oxford Street, owned by the American Harry Gordon Selfridge, called Selfridges. Selfridges (a Bremont dealer) is also celebrating its Centenary, and one hundred years later, and given Mikael Carlson arrives safely, the plane will be exhibited in (a now re-vamped) Selfridges once again.