The Race to Dover - today (weds) Radio 4 Weds 11am
The BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew loves to fly but even his keeness as a pilot is stymied by the Bleriot XI. In the course of making this programme on the race, 100 years ago, to be the first to fly across the Channel, Agnew is invited to climb into this fragile monoplane. Monsieur Bleriot, its owner and pilot, was a petit man. Jonathan stands at 6ft 4in. And then there's the matter of the engine: it's only 25 horse power. Nonetheless, his helpers crank it up and he sits inside. He might not want to take it on a flight, but once the wings start quivering to the thrum of the engine he can see why the experience has been described as like riding on the back of a butterfly. Agnew also speaks to Bleriot's grandson, who reads most movingly from the pilot's journals of his terrifying 1909 flight across La Manche.