Editing Louis Blériot (section)

==Later life==
Blériot's success brought about an immediate transformation of the status of ''Recherches Aéronautiques Louis Blériot.'' By the time of the Channel flight, he had spent at least 780,000 francs on his aviation experiments.<ref>Elliott 2000, p. 140.</ref> (To put this figure into context, one of Blériot's skilled mechanics was paid 250 francs a month.) Now this investment began to pay off: orders for copies of the Type XI quickly came, and by the end of the year, orders for over 100 aircraft had been received, each selling for 10,000 francs.

At the end of August, Blériot was one of the flyers at the [[Grande Semaine d'Aviation]] held at Reims, where he was narrowly beaten by [[Glenn Curtiss]] in the first [[Gordon Bennett Trophy (aeroplanes)|Gordon Bennett Trophy]]. Blériot did, however, succeed in winning the prize for the fastest lap of the circuit, establishing a new world speed record for aircraft.

Blériot followed his flights at Reims with appearances at other aviation meetings in [[Brescia]], [[Budapest]], [[Bucharest]] in 1909 (making the first airplane flights in both [[Hungary]] and [[Romania]]). Up to this time he had had great good luck in walking away from accidents that had destroyed the aircraft, but his luck deserted him in December 1909 at an aviation meeting in [[Istanbul]]. Flying in gusty conditions to placate an impatient and restive crowd, he crashed on top of a house, breaking several ribs and suffering internal injuries: he was hospitalized for three weeks.<ref>Elliott 2000, p. 165.</ref>

Between 1909 and the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914, Blériot produced about 900 aircraft, most of them variations of the Type XI model.<ref>Elliott 2000, p. 173.</ref> Blériot monoplanes and [[Voisin (aircraft)|Voisin]]-type biplanes, with the latter's [[Farman]] derivatives dominated the pre-war aviation market.<ref>Gibbs-Smith 1953, p. 255.</ref> There were concerns about the safety of monoplanes in general, both in France and the UK. The French government grounded all monoplanes in the French Army from February 1912 after accidents to four Blériots, but lifted it after trials in May supported Blériot's analysis of the problem and led to a strengthening of the [[landing wires]]. The brief but influential ban on the use of monoplanes by the Military Wing (though not the Naval Wing) in the UK was triggered by accidents to other manufacturer's aircraft; Blériots were not involved.<ref name="Sanger 2008 pp.92-3"/>

Along with five other European aircraft builders, from 1910, Blériot was involved in a five-year legal struggle with the [[Wright Brothers]] over the latter's wing warping patents. The Wrights' claim was dismissed in the French and the German courts.<ref>Mackersey 2003, p. 440.</ref>

From 1913 or earlier,<ref>Janes 1913{{page needed|date=May 2012}}</ref> Blériot's aviation activities were handled by [[Blériot Aéronautique]], based at [[Suresnes]], which continued to design and produce aircraft up to the nationalisation of most of the French aircraft industry in 1937, when it was absorbed into [[SNCASO]].<ref>''Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1938''{{page needed|date=April 2012}}</ref><ref>Taylor 1989, pp. 161–165.</ref>

In 1913, a consortium led by Blériot bought the [[Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés|Société pour les Appareils Deperdussin]] aircraft manufacturer and he became the president of the company in 1914. He renamed it the [[Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés]] (SPAD); this company produced [[World War I]] fighter aircraft such as the [[SPAD S.XIII]].

[[File:Sem Bleriot.jpg|thumb|right|Caricature of Louis Blériot by [[Sem (artist)|Sem]] (1910)]]
Before [[World War I]], Blériot had opened British [[flying school]]s at [[Brooklands]], in [[Surrey]] and at [[Hendon]] [[Aerodrome]].<ref>Sanger 2008, p. 16.</ref> Realising that a British company would have more chance to sell his models to the British government, in 1915, he set up the Blériot Manufacturing Aircraft Company Ltd. The hoped for orders did not follow, as the Blériot design was seen as outdated. Following an unresolved conflict over control of the company, it was wound up on 24 July 1916.<ref>Sanger 2008, pp. 22–25.</ref> Even before the closure of this company Blériot was planning a new venture in the UK. Initially named Blériot and SPAD Ltd and based in [[Addlestone]], it became the [[Air Navigation and Engineering Company]] (ANEC) in May 1918. ANEC survived in a difficult aviation climate until late 1926, producing [[Blériot-Whippet]] cars, the Blériot 500cc motorcycle,<ref>Motor Cycle Design in France, The Motor Cycle, 29 July 1920, pp. 122–125</ref> as well as several light aircraft.<ref>Sanger 2008, pp. 27–31.</ref>

In 1927, Blériot, long retired from flying, was present to welcome [[Charles Lindbergh]] when he landed at Le Bourget field completing his transatlantic flight. The two men, separated in age by 30 years, had each made history by crossing significant bodies of water, and shared a photo opportunity in Paris.<ref name="lindbergh_with_bleriot_wisconsinhistory_com">[https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM10540 "Lindbergh in Paris with Bleriot Photograph,"] photo and caption, [[Wisconsin Historical Society]], retrieved September 13, 2021</ref>

In 1934, Blériot visited [[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark Airport]] in [[New Jersey]] and predicted commercial overseas flights by 1938.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1934/10/17/archives/inspects-newark-airport-louis-bleriot-predicts-oversea-service.html "Inspects Newark Airport: Louis Blériot Predicts Oversea Service Within Four Years."] ''[[The New York Times]],'' 17 October 1934. Retrieved: 26 July 2009.</ref>