"The ability to do this so quickly was largely due to the enthusiastic and efficient services of Mr. C.E. Taylor, who did all the machine work in our shop for the first as well as the succeeding experimental machines"
About this Quote
Wright’s specific intent is attribution. Not a sentimental thank-you, but a technical claim about speed: they moved quickly because Taylor’s labor was “enthusiastic and efficient,” and because he “did all the machine work.” The repetition - “first as well as the succeeding” - turns credit into a pattern, not a one-off favor. Taylor isn’t an accessory to the breakthrough; he’s an enabling condition.
The subtext is defensive and political in the quiet way engineers can be. The Wrights spent years fighting for recognition amid patent battles and rival claimants. By foregrounding Taylor, Orville signals credibility: real experimentation leaves tooling marks, invoices, and specialists. He’s also drawing a boundary around what “we” means. The famous “Wright brothers” becomes a small ecosystem of skilled labor, collaboration, and trust.
Context matters: early aviation was as much fabrication as theory. Ideas didn’t fly. Workmanship did. This sentence insists that modernity is built by teams, and it does so without romance - which is why it hits.
Quote Details
| Topic | Engineer |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Wright, Orville. (2026, January 18). The ability to do this so quickly was largely due to the enthusiastic and efficient services of Mr. C.E. Taylor, who did all the machine work in our shop for the first as well as the succeeding experimental machines. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-ability-to-do-this-so-quickly-was-largely-due-3246/
Chicago Style
Wright, Orville. "The ability to do this so quickly was largely due to the enthusiastic and efficient services of Mr. C.E. Taylor, who did all the machine work in our shop for the first as well as the succeeding experimental machines." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-ability-to-do-this-so-quickly-was-largely-due-3246/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The ability to do this so quickly was largely due to the enthusiastic and efficient services of Mr. C.E. Taylor, who did all the machine work in our shop for the first as well as the succeeding experimental machines." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-ability-to-do-this-so-quickly-was-largely-due-3246/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
