"AS YOU CRUISE along at altitude behind that little "four banger" out front pulling your pride and joy through the air, have you given a thought to the ancestry of that powerplant which most of us take for granted? Have you ever wondered about its origin and how it was first used in an airplane? A look backward is sometimes beneficial - at least it makes us appreciate the work of the pioneers." (Source, unknown)

On September 20th, 1894, a young man, his wife, and new son, left Kearney, Nebraska, to start a new life in the Gem City: Dayton, Ohio. Little did he, or anyone else for that matter, realize the part he was about to play in creating the first of these so-called "four-bangers", for a pair of contemporary geniouses, surnamed Wright. After working in several area manufacturing concerns, including his own machine shop for a short time, Charlie Taylor was hired in 1901 by the Wright brothers to work in their latest bicycle shop on West Third Street. Around Christmas 1902, "the boys", as Charlie affectionately referred to them, asked him if he could build an engine, a gasoline-powered four-banger to sustain them in flight with their 1903 airplane. When interviewed several times later in life, he testified simply that he replied to their request, "I can and I did it."

There is a good deal more to the story than the building of the first "four-banger". Charlie Taylor was approaching 40 when he "did it" in 1903 and lived long enough to witness the advent of such things as 2,800 horsepower radials, rocket and jet engines, two world wars, worldwide airways, and supersonic flight. He left this life just before man ventured into space. His story spans almost 90 years, from the American Civil War to the Korean War. Told out of the context of Charlie's life, the building of the 1903 engine would simply be an interesting historical fact. Within the context of his life it becomes a human and, to some extent, everyman's story.

8-1/2" x 11" with 85 pictures and 12 drawings.

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About the Author

Howard R. DuFour originally came from Detroit, Michigan. After being introduced to machine tools in technical high school, he was employed from 1932 until 1940 as a draftsman, photographer, and special machinist. During WWII, his skills were needed to support the defense industry in Dayton, Ohio, culminating with an assignment on the Manhattan Project. Remaining in Dayton after the war, he operated his own camera repair business. Starting in 1951, he worked in Dayton for Monsanto, Dabel, and National Cash Register as an instrument machinist, tool and die maker, and machine tool and design engineer, respectively. By 1976, as a master model maker, he joined the staff at Wright State University, supervising the work of its instrument machine shop. During his lengthy career he co-authored several technical reports and secured some U.S. patents. Retired since 1981, he devoted most of his time to researching the life and times of a kindred spirit - the subject of this book.