Designed by Louis Bleriot and Raymond Saulnier, the Bleriot X1 was a light, sleek monoplane constructed of oak and poplar with surfaces covered in cloth. Bleriot X1 used a 25hp Anzani 3 cylinder engine and had some groundbreaking technologies such as castering landing gear, wing warping to control the plane's roll, a horizontal stabilizer with an elevator and a rudder but no vertical stabilizer. Unintentionally, Bleriot added lateral stability to the plane by leaving the aft section of the fuselage uncovered. This created enough drag to add stability to the aircraft's flight characteristics. The plane would gain immortaility on July 25, 1909 when Louis Bleriot successfully crossed the Channel from Calais to Dover in 36.30 minutes.