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New Zealand's
Air Machines; Pearse - Ogilvie - Schaef
By Geoffrey Rodliffe |
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At the turn of the century, many far sighted men in different
parts of the world were trying to achieve powered flight, not the least
of these efforts were being made in New Zealand.
Several successful
gliders had been flown in Europe and the United States, and a group of
enthusiasts had built and flown gliders about 1910. One of these
men, George Bolt, was to become New Zealand's best known pioneer airman.
He was a member of the Christchurch Aero Club which actively encouraged
gliding and carried out most of its flying from the slopes of the Cashmere
hills near the city.
The gliders were hand-towed off the hill slopes and achieved flights
of over 300 yards to a height of about 100
feet. Numerous breakages occurred, but this was accepted as part
of the trial and error of progress.
On December 17, 1903 at Kittyhawk, Ohio in the United States, the Wright
brothers achieved the first powered, controlled, and sustained flight of
an aeroplane. The
breakthrough had been made. In New Zealand, a
young Temuka farmer, Richard Pearse, working
entirely alone, very nearly succeeded in beating
the Wright brothers to this singular honour.
His efforts were only discovered in 1950 when
one of the aeroplanes he had so painstakingly
designed and built was found in a back yard shed
in Christchurch. |
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Extensive
enquiries revealed Pearse as an unknown genius
who, regarded as somewhat of an eccentric by his
neighbours, had actually staggered into the air
early in 1904, only two months after the Wright
brothers. The extent of his flights has
not been fully established, but from eye witness
accounts it appears that he made several hops,
the first of which unfortunately finished in the
Temuka river from where, over 50 years later,
George Bolt recovered rusting remains of his
first engine and other parts. These efforts,
although not as successful as the Wright
brothers, detract little from Pearse's wonderful
lone triumphs. From his later aircraft, which is
now the property of the Auckland Transport
Museum, the ingenious ideas incorporated put
Pearse years ahead of his time.
Had he accepted outside aid and knowledge, it is interesting
to speculate what might have been achieved. Two other notable attempts at a successful Powered flight were made
during this early period. Bertram Ogilvie of Napier, with the assistance
of a band of willing helpers, worked long hours experiment-ing with all
sorts of ideas and constructing three machines. Most of the
experiments were made in secrecy, but one of the novel schemes incorporated
was the aileron-the moving wing section-to bank an aeroplane into a turn-later
to become standard on all aeroplanes. At that time banking was achieved
by wing warping or actually bending the wing tips. Ogilvie's machines
were launched from a high wooden ramp, but due to insufficient power, sustained
flight was not possible. |
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Lord Kitchener, who was visiting New Zealand at the time, showed considerable
interest in these experiments and offered assistance on behalf of the British
War Office.
Ogilvie and one of his assistants, Mr. Hawkins, a Hastings engineer,
were sent to England to join the famous Handley Page Aircraft Co., to carry
on with their experiments.
In 1909, a Wellington photographer, Arthur Schaef was also very active
building an aeroplane powered by a small J.A.P. engine. The engine
was found unsuitable however, but Percy Fisher, an associate of Schaef's,
produced a 30 HP engine of his own and in 1911 the aircraft named "N.Z.
Vogel" roared along the sands of Lyall Bay and briefly hoisted itself into
the air, much to the excitement of the onlookers.
After several propellers had been tried, and numerous hops into the
ether, the best about 150 feet in distance and a few feet in altitude,
Schaef decided to look for more operating room. He moved to Hagley
Park in Christchurch, but was frustrated by hundreds of cyclists and onlookers,
and finally broke the engine crankshaft. Undaunted, he returned to Wellington and tried the water of Evans
Bay, equipped with a new aeroplane on floats. This being also unsuccessful,
he was soon back on the beach, sometimes returning to the water involuntarily
at the end of a high speed dash. Schaef's ambitions were finally dashed when his aeroplane was destroyed
in a shed fire. |
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