Retired pals Jack Berkin and Denis Wood fulfilled a five-year dream when they crossed the Atlantic in a tiny kit-built aircraft.

The 68-year-olds' 4,500-mile journey, which ended on Tuesday night, also marked the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first successful flight.

Former British Airways pilot Denis, from Petworth, and his friend Jack met in 1998 in southern France, where Denis has a second home.

Denis said: "Jack took my wife and I out on his boat and asked me what I intended to do with the rest of my life. I told him I wanted to fly across the Atlantic.

"I remember him being very enthusiastic and saying, 'great, I'll come too'. The problem was he couldn't fly. But that didn't bother him. He said he would learn.

"There we were bobbing around on the sea and the next moment we were paying about £150,000 for a model aeroplane."

Because of his flying experience, Denis would have to pilot the four-seat plane while Jack, who spent the next five years taking flying lessons, would navigate.

Once that was decided, the pair started working on the aircraft which would carry them 11,000ft above the cold waters of the Atlantic.

"We got the kit flown out to France and we spent the next four years building the thing there. There were a few technical hitches along the way and we had to fly the whole thing out to Florida to get the engine installed."

Before the flight, Jack described the plane as "some plastic stuck together with glue and string" but the most striking thing was its size.

With a top speed of about 200mph, the Velocity 173 RG Elite looked perilously small for an epic journey.

But the adventurers had plenty of fuel and emergency provisions, including a survival kit and a life-raft in case something went wrong.

Denis said: "Thinking about it now, if we had landed in the sea we would have been in trouble. I don't think we would have lasted very long."

The journey began last Friday when, in front of thousands of people, including former astronaut Neil Armstrong, the pair took off from Dayton, Ohio, in the United States, where the Wright brothers carried out their testing.

The plane was built to the same configuration as the Wright brothers' plane with the engine at the back.

Refuelling in Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland, Velocity touched down four days later at 8.30pm in Blackpool with an emotional pilot and co-pilot inside.

Mr Berkin, a retired healthcare administer from Hertfordshire, paid tribute to his friend. He said: "Denis is extremely experienced and his skill in flying the aircraft was unbelievable."

Denis said it was a good crossing but there was a worrying moment on their approach to landing in Greenland.

"The wheels failed to come down. We were at about 1,000-feet and the undercarriage did not drop. If we had not got the gear down, there is no doubt the aircraft would have been written off."

But he spotted the problem and the plane landed safely.

When leaving Iceland, the plane picked up a lot of ice which can prevent the lift-mechanism on the wings from functioning properly.

Mr Berkin agreed the most frightening moments were in Greenland. He said: "We were surrounded with all the safety equipment but knew full well if we survived a crash we would have frozen to death anyway."

Despite the limited space between them, the pair say they got on remarkably well during the flight.

Denis said: "There were no squabbles. I think if you can survive each other in such close proximity you're going to be friends for life."

"It was the biggest adventure of my lifetime."

Now he hopes to fly the plane into Shoreham Airport on Sunday night before taking it to Goodwood for a celebration party.