Although Wilbur and Orville Wright designed their
airplanes, they did not necessarily build every single part themselves. Dayton's
West Side was a beehive of machine shops and manufacturers, and the Wright
brothers took advantage of these resources. They "farmed out" the
engine castings, some of the gears in the engine, the bent wooden pieces, and
many other parts to local businesses that were better equipped to make
them than the Wright brothers themselves. The completed Flyers were a product of
the Wright's genius and the local talent that was available to them.