Who is Windrider from Dragonwings?

Moon Shadow's father, Windrider, is a troubled man, who unfortunately has a difficult time getting his priorities straight. Windrider's violent past is the main reason he's treveled to America, where he pursues two dreams. One.... to build a flying machine. Two..... to bring his wife to America. Unfortunately, he chooses to pursue those dreams in that order, putting his dream of a flying machine before the welfare of his family.