Tauranga’s aviation museum will become the permanent home to a replica of what’s believed to be the world’s oldest powered flying aircraft.

Classic Flyers has taken possession of the full-sized reproduction of New Zealand inventor Richard Pearse’s 1903 aircraft that was among the first to fly. It was painstakingly reconstructed over 15 years by late Auckland engineer Ivan Mudrovcich but has been in storage since his death in 2018.

“For aviation enthusiasts in New Zealand, this is a very unique display and we’re pleased to have it at Classic Flyers,” says CEO Andrew Gormlie. “It’s one of the earliest aircraft and potentially flew a year before the Wright brothers in the US.”

Ivan’s son, Ivan, and grandson, Joseph, both worked with him on what is now considered a family legacy.

“I thought it was my dad’s best idea,” says Ivan. “I was rapt. It’s the biggest project he ever took on.

“It absorbed 15 years of his life through researching and building. I’m an aircraft engineer, so I helped out where I could, and we have photos of Joseph getting involved from when he was 2 years old.”

Ivan Mudrovcich with his son Joseph work on the replica. Photo: John Borren.

Both the original built by Pearse and the replica have managed short “hops” off the ground, but whether the aircraft officially flew or not isn’t the debate as far as Ivan is concerned.

“The significance is that Pearse was a Kiwi pioneer at the same time as the Wright brothers, so he was up there among the first,” says Ivan.

“I put him in the same category as Burt Munro and John Britten.

“Dad’s intention was to build the aircraft and allow others to come to their own conclusions. It’s been lying in Mum’s shed so we like that it will now be on show.”

The replica with its 12m wingspan will take pride of place hanging from the roof of Classic Flyers, so that it’s visible from the event room.

“We can now tell the story of Richard Pearse,” says Andrew.

“He’s the one who originally invented it around 1900 at Temuka, near Christchurch.

“He may have been the first guy that flew in the world but irrespective, he was still doing a series of test flights as early as any of the aviation pioneers around the planet so it’s pretty cool.”