Who helped the Wright brothers build the engine for their 1903 Flyer?

Charlie Taylor helped the Wright brothers build the engine for their 1903 Flyer.

Taylor was a mechanic who worked in the Wright brothers’ bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. When the brothers could not find a commercially available engine light enough for their aircraft, Taylor helped construct one in the shop.

The engine was a four-cylinder petrol design producing about 12 horsepower. Taylor handled much of the practical machining and construction, while the brothers contributed design requirements and engineering decisions.

Taylor is sometimes overlooked because the brothers are associated so strongly with the Flyer. His work was nevertheless essential: without a sufficiently light engine, the brothers’ aerodynamic and control innovations could not have produced a powered aircraft.