Richard Pearse

For other people with similar names, see Richard Pearce (disambiguation).

Richard William Pearse
Richard Pearse in 1903
Born(1877-12-03)3 December 1877
Waitohi Flat, South Canterbury, New Zealand
Died29 July 1953(1953-07-29) (aged 75)
Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
NationalityBritish, Dominion of New Zealand
Other namesDick "Aeroplane" Pearse, Bamboo Dick[1]
EducationWaitohi Flat School and Upper Waitohi School
Occupation(s)Farmer, inventor
Known forPioneering flights in heavier-than-air aircraft
RelativesAlfred Pearse
Malcolm Sargent[2]
Edgar Francis Babst, RAF (cousin)[2]: 21 
Signature

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]

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]

  1. ^ "Early Flight at Temuka in Home-made Aeroplane". The Press. Vol. 90, no. 27393. 5 July 1954. p. 10.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Ogilvie1973 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Rodliffe, C. Geoffrey (2003). Richard Pearse: Pioneer Aviator (4 ed.). Thornbury, UK: C. G. Rodliffe.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference CL19091130.2.28 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Ogilvie, Gordon (1996). "Story: Pearse, Richard William". Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  6. ^ Foster, Bernard John (1966). "Pearse, Richard William". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 16 February 2019.