Some further information which appears to have eluded Colonel Klink's research:
"A question often asked is: "Did this man, a farmer's son with no technical training and with severely limited facilities and funds, really succeed where so many others had failed?" The proof can be seen in the advanced design of his engines and aircraft, which had many original features not then found elsewhere; and although many of his ideas were never developed to their full extent nevertheless his engine produced more than adequate power for the purpose of getting his plane airborne. The motor car did not appear in his locality until some years after Pearse had built and run his petrol engine; his design was based on the steam engines and early oil engines in use in the district, supplemented by information gathered from engineering books...
It is probably now impossible to establish without doubt if Pearse flew before the Wright Brothers. However, there is no doubt that Pearse's definition of flying was far more rigorous than that of the Wright Brothers, and that flights he made prior to the Wright's attempts were never classified by himself as, "actually flying". Pearse invented the aileron and variable pitch air-screw many years ahead of others researching control surfaces".
Richard Pearse
A further long discussion is to be found at the following link:-
AvStop Research
For those to whom the name of Richard Pearse is unfamiliar, the following link provides a balanced assessment of his achievements:-
MOTAT
This link provides information from a relative of Richard Pearse:-
First Flight?
And by request of the author:-
The Author
For even more references Copernic <
www.copernic.com>
and Google <
www.google.com> will provide a multitude, making it that much easier for 'historians' to keep abreast.
On a different note, yesterday was the 67th anniversary of the first flight of possibly THE most important aeroplane yet: the immortal DC-3.
