Richard Pearse
New Zealand farmer, inventor and aviation pioneer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Richard William Pearse (3 December 1877 – 29 July 1953) was a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Witnesses interviewed many years afterward describe observing Pearse flying and landing a powered heavier-than-air machine on 31 March 1903, nine months before the Wright brothers flew.[3]: 21–30 Ambiguous statements made by Pearse himself make it difficult to date the aviation experiments with certainty. In a newspaper interview in 1909, with respect to inventing a flying machine, he said "I did not attempt anything practical with the idea until 1904".[4]
Richard William Pearse | |
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Born | (1877-12-03)3 December 1877 |
Died | 29 July 1953(1953-07-29) (aged 75) |
Nationality | British, Dominion of New Zealand |
Other names | Dick "Aeroplane" Pearse, Bamboo Dick[1] |
Education | Waitohi Flat School and Upper Waitohi School |
Occupation(s) | Farmer, inventor |
Known for | Pioneering flights in heavier-than-air aircraft |
Relatives | Alfred Pearse Malcolm Sargent[2] Edgar Francis Babst, RAF (cousin)[2]: 21 |
Signature | |
Biographer Gordon Ogilvie credits Pearse with "several far-sighted concepts: a monoplane configuration, wing flaps and rear elevator, tricycle undercarriage with steerable nosewheel, and a propeller with variable-pitch blades."[5]
Pearse largely ended his early flying experiments about 1911 but pioneered on in novel aircraft and aero-engine invention from 1933 with the development of his "private plane for the million", a foldable single-engined tiltrotor convertiplane.[6][5]