Charles E. Taylor: 1868-1956 The Wright Brothers Mechanician

by H.R. DuFour

The life of Charles E. Taylor, the Wright brothers' mechanic and the inventor of the first airplane engine. The book is a bio of his life before, during and following the years with the Wright brothers.

195 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insight into the early days of aviation. Lot's of history here. I felt as though I were reading two books at the same time though, there is the story of Charles Taylor which is a great biography but, then it switches to maintenance manual for the first engine and bounces back and forth between these two topics. Had to switch gears too many times but, it still is a great amount of history and insight.

[Jon Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased my copy of this book in paperback at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, NC in November 2021. The book is a biography of Charles Taylor, the machinist who fabricated engines for the early Wright Flyers starting with the 1903 machine that made the first powered, controlled flights. The author DuFour was also a machinist, and very much an admirer of Taylor. When I purchased the book I was mostly interested details about the design and fabrication of that first engine, and the book delivered on that accord. The book discusses how the incorporation of the engine into the airframe influenced the design of both, how materials were selected (the selection of lightweight aluminum for the engine housing being a real innovation at the time), the design process for the engine, its fabrication, testing, and flight history. This is all good stuff and, including an appendix at the end, it makes up about 40% of the book. There are many photographs and drawings that were helpful in me understanding what was being discussed. It is based on this portion of the book that I'm giving it a rating of four out of five stars. The part of the book that deals with the biography of Taylor I found much less compelling. As described in the book he was apparently a reclusive and irascible character, a man more comfortable around his tools than around people, so his biography is somewhat sad and doesn't make for great reading. He was indeed an incredibly talented machinist and designer who applied his considerable skills in solving a critical problem in the development of powered flight, but other than that he wasn't so interesting. The author, out of his interest in and respect for Taylor, draws out this part of the book much longer than was needed, in my opinion. Four out of five stars.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, this book needed another round of proofreading and, yes, it often felt jumbled and unorganized but wow, minor gripes for the treasure that this book is! It was obviously a passion project for the author, crafted out of pure love and endless curiosity. You get old family photos, genealogy, a little Dayton history, tons of Wright context (which I found perfectly necessary and welcome even though I am well familiar with the Wright's life/work timeline), and a lot about the technical work Charlie did for them and others. From birth to death, you get to know everything the author was able to dig up about his life and movements - which is actually way more than I expected for someone (Charlie) who was ultimately just an average guy, as skilled as he was. I loved this book and I'm thrilled it's in my personal library.

[Gerald Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always wanted to know more about the man who made the engine and who was given so little credit for the first powered flight. And when the Wright brothers formed their corporation Charles received no stock.

This book also covers the failure of the business due to poor management and why it merged with Martin and later with Curtis.

After the death of Wilbur everything changed.