"Lawrence Dillard" wrote in message
...

Not intending a flame war, but I seem to recall that an Australian
inventor
got his powered, piloted, heavier-than-air a/c into sustained, controlled
flight to a safe landing even before (perhaps by years) the Wright
Brothers. His feat, however, did not get the publicity it deserved.

Hence my appeal to any Aussies out there who might have leads or further
info. Could it have been a true story I read? Did an Aussie first do the
deed? Thanks for any assistance.


You're thinking of Richard Pearse. While some Australians claim Pearse flew
before the Wrights, Pearse himself never made such a claim. An examination
of available data on Pearse's machines suggests it's very unlikely Pearse's
machine ever achieved powered flight of any kind.

http://www.flyingmachines.org/pears.html