![Replica of Richard Pearse’s monoplane at South Canterbury Museum](http://static.sciencelearn.org.nz/images/images/000/000/296/full/FLT_LKC_ART_02_PeopleInTheHistoryFlight_Pearse_monoplane_replica.jpg?1674164054)
Richard Pearse’s monoplane resembled a modern-day microlight. Witness accounts suggest he flew it before the Wright brothers flew theirs. This monoplane is a replica from the South Canterbury Museum in Timaru.
There is evidence that Richard Pearse did not achieve controlled flight before the Wright brothers in 1903. See a report from the Timaru Post dated 17 November 1909.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/6799761/Pearse-flew-long-after-Wrights