House Concurrent Resolution 28

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE AND MEMORY OF CHARLES EDWARD TAYLOR AND RECOGNIZING MAY 24 AS AVIATION MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN DAY IN HIS HONOR.

WHEREAS, Charles Edward Taylor was born on May 24, 1869; and

WHEREAS, in 1902, Charles Edward Taylor began working as a machinist for Orville and Wilbur Wright at the Wright Cycle Company in Dayton, Ohio; and

WHEREAS, within six weeks, Charles Edward Taylor, using only a lathe and drill press, built the first engine used to power the Wright Flyer; and

WHEREAS, his ingenuity earned him a place in aviation history when the Wright Brothers successfully flew their airplane on December 17, 1903; and

WHEREAS, after this historic event, Charles Edward Taylor continued to design engines for the Wright Brothers and later taught them to build aircraft engines; and

WHEREAS, in 1908, Mr. Taylor accompanied Orville Wright to Fort Meyer, Virginia, for test flights by the United States government and in 1909, accompanied Wilbur Wright to New York for the Hudson-Fulton flights; and

WHEREAS, Charles Edward Taylor served as lead mechanic for Calbraith (Cal) Rodgers, who made his first transcontinental flight in 1911; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Taylor had a successful career in aviation maintenance for more than sixty years; and

WHEREAS, Charles Edward Taylor was honored by the Federal Aviation Administration with the establishment of the Charles Edward Taylor Master Mechanic Award, which recognizes persons with fifty years or more of aviation maintenance experience; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend excellence as exhibited by the life, accomplishments and memory of Mr. Charles Edward Taylor, whose achievements in aviation maintenance set the mark for the future of aviation:

NOW, THEREFORE, ON BEHALF OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life and memory of Charles Edward Taylor, the world's first airplane mechanic, and recognize May 24 of each year as Aviation Maintenance Technician Day in his honor.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.