In 1908 Lord Northcliffe offered a prize of 1000 pounds to the first man who will fly would fly has flown ....... cross the English Channel. Over a year passed before the first attempt was made. On July 19th, 1909, in the early morning, Hubert Latham started from the French coast in his plane the Antoinette IV. He had to travel might travel could have travelled ....... about seven miles across the Channel when his engine failed and he was forced forced was forcing ....... to land on the sea. The Antoinette floated on the water until Latham was picked up by the a - ....... ship. Two days later, Louis Bleriot arrived to at in ....... Calais with a plane called No. XI. Bleriot had been making has been making was making ....... planes since 1905 and this was his latest model. A week before, he had it completed had completed had been 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 Antoinette. It looked as if there would be would have been had been ....... an exciting race across the Channel. Both planes were going to take up off over ....... on July 25th, but Latham managed to failed to didn't succeed in ....... 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 who greet greeted ....... 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. If his engine hadn't failed, he would have landed wouldn't land wouldn't have landed ....... on the sea for the second time.