Embry-Riddle renames Aviation Maintenance program after Charles Taylor

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University celebrated Charles Taylor’s 137th birthday on May 24 by naming one of its oldest units the Charles Taylor Department of Aviation Maintenance Science. Taylor, the Wright brothers’ mechanic and engine builder, is the man who put the “power in powered flight,” according to the department’s chairman, Fred Mirgle. Taylor’s great-grandson, Charles Taylor II, a pilot for 18 years, attended the ceremony. ERAU plans to observe Taylor’s birthday every year, as well as hold FAA recertification classes and seminars on campus and host a major conference on aviation maintenance topics annually.