Richard Pearse's aeroplane
Aeroplano de Richard Pearse
- Date
- 1902-1904 · confidence low
- Place
- Waitohi, Canterbury, New Zealand
- Credited to
- Richard William Pearse
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A Waitohi farmer who built a monoplane with his own engine and tested short flights in 1902-1904. His designs anticipated ailerons and tricycle undercarriage, but it is not proven that he achieved sustained, controlled flight.
Pearse never claimed to have flown like the Wrights; his own statements and neighbours' testimonies are late and contradictory. The date of 31 March 1903 is a later reconstruction. It is generally accepted he achieved hops of some tens of metres, without controlled flight.
What it led to
- a symbol of New Zealand aviation
- historiographical debate on aviation pioneers
- low-power monoplane designs