Working for the Wright Brothers

摘要

In 1905, Charles Wald, a young U.S. Customs Service employee stationed in the Philippines, came upon an article describing successful flights by Orville and Wilbur Wright; the piece was illustrated with photographs of the brothers flying a glider at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Wald was immediately excited by the possibilities. In 1906 he returned to the United States and, on his way east, stopped in Dayton to visit the Wrights. To his surprise, they invited him to their home, where he met their father, Bishop Milton Wright, and sister, Katharine. Apparently, however, they said little to encourage his interest in flying except to advise him to learn some engineering. Wald went on to New York, where he continued his employment with the Customs Service, but he also enrolled in night courses in engineering at Pratt Institute.