Looking for fun things to do during National Park Week? Visit the Dunbar house on Saturday 4/26/25, or Sunday 4/27/25 to join in on a National Park Week Reading with a Ranger program! This program is free and open to the public. Readers of all levels are welcome and there will be fun activities and games to go along with the presentation. This program will take place at the Dunbar House Visitor Center located at 312 Edison St. Dayton, OH 45402. For more information call 937-225-7705. (fb)

"Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that [lift] which I desire" - Wilbur and Orville Wright. Just kidding. The skies have always held a sense of wonder and reaching them has been a long and ambitious quest. The Wright brothers relentlessly tested and refined their wing shapes, perfected their control methods, and invented the aviation propeller from scratch. Yet, there remained one vital piece missing in the puzzle of human flight: a lightweight engine powerful enough to lift a person off the ground. Initially, the Wrights believed they could easily have an engine fabricated in Dayton, Ohio—a booming industrial hub at the time. To their surprise, local companies refused to produce molds for a single engine block based on their innovative design. However, fortune smiled upon them when they discovered a skilled foundry capable of casting an engine from a relatively new material: aluminum alloy. This breakthrough allowed the brothers to create a lightweight engine block, but it still needed to be transformed into a functional masterpiece. Enter Charles "Charlie" Taylor. In just six weeks, Charlie turned creativity into reality, crafting a functioning engine that produced 8-12 horsepower using only bike shop tools! This remarkable engine had no spark plugs or carburetor; instead, fuel funneled through a plate at the top and vaporized in the chamber, with a copper ribbon providing the spark between chambers. Although the gas tank held just under a gallon, and the engine ran roughly, it posed structural challenges for the propeller system, it was a critical step forward. On its first attempt, it ran! Charlie had accomplished a solo act of genius, but how did he join this remarkable team? A family acquaintance of the Wrights, Charlie moved to Dayton from Indiana upon the recommendation of Bishop Milton Wright—little did he know he would one day be hired by the very brothers he’d heard so much about! Initially, the Wrights enlisted Charlie for specialized jobs, such as forming coaster brakes and wheel hubs. However, his exceptional skills became pivotal in conquering the challenges of flight, enabling Orville and Wilbur to focus on testing their ideas in North Carolina during the 1902 glider experiments. Charlie not only built the engine for the iconic 1903 Flyer based on a rough drawing but continued to produce improved engines for the Wright Airplane Company and played a crucial role in supporting Cal Rogers in crossing the nation in a Wright Model EX flyer. Without Charlie’s ingenuity and dedication, our world of transportation could look vastly different today. To honor his exceptional contributions, the FAA established the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award, ensuring that his legacy lives on in the hearts of aviation metalheads everywhere. Cheers to Charlie Taylor, a true pioneer in the realm of aviation! 🛩️ (fb)