Introduction

Richard William Pearse, of Waitohi, South Canterbury, was a man of genius whose achievements have gone almost unrecognised by the rest of the world. Here, in Timaru in 2003, the South Canterbury Aviation Heritage Centre and others plan to celebrate his life and work through an Air Show and other associated events.

Richard Pearse's first patented invention, dating from 1902, was an ingenious new style of bicycle, bamboo-framed with a vertical-drive pedal action, rod-and-rack gearing system, back-pedal rim-brakes and integral tyre pumps.

But flying, not cycling, was his dream. Through Scientific American Pearse kept in touch with experimentation overseas. There is evidence he was working on ideas for powered flight from 1899 and had built his first two-cylinder petrol engine by 1902. He then constructed using bamboo, tubular steel, wire and canvas, a low aspect ratio monoplane.

Of prophetic design, it closely resembled a modern microlight aircraft in appearance. After considerable taxiing on his farm paddocks Pearse made his first public flight attempt down Main Waitohi Road adjacent to his farm. After a short distance aloft, perhaps 50 yards, he crashed on top of his own gorse fence. A great deal of eyewitness testimony, able to be dated circumstantially, suggests that 31 March 1903 was the likely date of this first flight attempt.

Whether or not Pearse flew in any acceptable sense, and regardless of the exact date, his first aircraft was a remarkable invention embodying several far-sighted concepts: a monoplane configuration, wing flaps and rear elevator, tricycle undercarriage with steerable nosewheel, and a propeller with variable-pitch blades driven by a unique double-acting horizontally opposed petrol engine.

After having moved to Christchurch, Pearse, in the early 1930s, set about designing and building a second aircraft, his Utility Plane. Constructed in great secrecy, Pearse's convertiplane anticipated the main feature of the Harrier jump jet and other similar aircraft with a tilting engine to allow for vertical take-off and landing. Pearse hoped this extraordinary aircraft would become aviation's Model T Ford, "the private plane for the million", able to be flown from one's backyard.

Other (unpatented) inventions by Pearse included a needle threader, power cycle, recording machine, magic viewer, harp, power generator, potato planter, topdresser, motorised discing machine and two sorts of musical box. His Utility Plane is held at the Museum of Transport and Technology, Auckland, and remnants of his first monoplane are held there and at the Timaru Museum.