A new edition of the book which was first published in 1973. It tells the story of the South Canterbury inventor who may have been the first person to achieve a powered takeoff. This edition is revised, and contains a new chapter which discusses the reputation of Richard Pearse as it has developed in the years since the book first appeared. The major concern is to explore the originality and far-sightedness of the inventor who had received very little formal training and worked with relatively primitive means.