Charlie Taylor was the mechanic who helped design and build the Wright brothers’ first successful powered-flight engine.
Taylor worked with Wilbur and Orville at their bicycle shop in Dayton. When the brothers could not obtain a commercially available engine that met their requirements for weight and power, Taylor helped construct one in the winter of 1903. The engine was a lightweight four-cylinder gasoline design that produced about 12 horsepower.
The brothers supplied the specifications and contributed engineering ideas, while Taylor’s machining and practical mechanical skills were essential to producing a working engine. The powerplant drove two propellers through bicycle-style chain transmission, an arrangement that reflected the brothers’ mechanical background.
Taylor is sometimes overshadowed because the Wright brothers designed the aircraft and conducted the flight research. Nevertheless, historians identify him as an important collaborator in the construction of the 1903 Flyer’s engine. His work helped turn the brothers’ aerodynamic experiments into a powered aircraft.