Charles Taylor - Aircraft Mechanic
Charles Taylor the mechanic who built and maintained the engine that was used to power the Wright brothers’ first powered aircraft has finally been recognized with a bronze bust at the National Museum of the USAF at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The Aircraft Maintenance Technicians Association raised $6,000 to have the bust displayed at the museum.
Wright brothers' mechanic honored at Ohio museum
A salute to the person with scarred knuckles and a heavy tool box of well kept tools.
Remembering the Forgotten Mechanic
Through the history of world aviation
many names have come to the fore.
Great deeds of the past in our memory will last,
as they're joined by more and more.
When man first started his labor
in his quest to conquer the sky,
He was designer, mechanic and pilot,
and he built a machine that would fly
But somehow the order got twisted,
and then in the public's eye
the only man that could be seen
was the man who knew how to fly.
The pilot was everyone's hero:
he was brave, he was bold, he was grand,
as he stood by his battered biplane
with his goggles and helmet in hand.
To be sure, these pilots all earned it,
to fly then you had to have guts.
And they blazed their names in the hall of fame
on wings with bailing wire struts.
But for each of these flying heroes,
there were thousands of little renown,
And these were the men who worked on the planes,
but kept there feet on the ground.
We all know the name of Lindbergh,
and we've read of his flight to fame
But think, if you can,
of his maintenance man,
can you remember his name?
And think of our wartime heroes
and all the acclaim that they got
Can you tell me the names of their crew chiefs?
A thousand to one you cannot.
So when you see the mighty jet aircraft
as they mark their way through the air,
Remember the grease-stained mechanic with the wrench in his hand;
he's the man who put them there.
--Author unknown
