The March 6, 2012, edition of WGN-TV’s Midday News program featured an interview with Simine Short, author of the recent book Locomotive to Aeromotive: Octave Chanute and the Transportation Revolution.

Chanute–who had an air force base named after him in nearby Rantoul, Illinois–designed America’s two largest stockyards, created innovative and influential structures such as the Kansas City Bridge, and was a passionate aviation pioneer whose collaborative approach to aeronautical engineering problems encouraged other experimenters, including the Wright brothers.