Blériot's next aircraft, the Blériot VIII was shown to the press in February 1908. Although it was the first to use of a successful combination of hand/arm-operated joystick and foot-operated rudder control, this was a failure in its first form. After modifications, it proved successful, and on 31 October 1908 he succeeded in making a cross-country flight, making a round trip from Toury to Arteny and back, a total distance of . This was not the first cross-country flight by a narrow margin, since Henri Farman had flown from Bouy to Rheims the preceding day. Four days later, the aircraft was destroyed in a taxiing accident.