The term Link Trainer, also known as the "Blue box" and "Pilot Trainer" is commonly used to refer to a series of flight simulators produced between the early 1930s and early 1950s by the Link Aviation Devices, Inc, founded and headed by Ed Link, based on technology he pioneered in 1929 at his family's business in Binghamton, New York. During World War II, they were used as a key pilot training aid by almost every combatant nation.
The original Link Trainer was created in 1929 out of the need for a safe way to teach new pilots how to fly by instruments. Ed Link used his knowledge of pumps, valves and bellows gained at his father's Link Piano and Organ Company to create a flight simulator that responded to the pilot's controls and gave an accurate reading on the included instruments. More than 500,000 US pilots were trained on Link simulators, as were pilots of nations as diverse as Australia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, Pakistan, and the USSR. Following WWII, Air Marshall Robert Leckie (wartime RAF Chief of Staff) said "The Luftwaffe met its Waterloo on all the training fields of the free world where there was a battery of Link Trainers."
The Link Flight Trainer has been designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The Link Company, now the Link Simulation & Training division of L3 Technologies, continues to make aerospace simulators.
Video Link Trainer
Origins
Edwin Link had developed a passion for flying in his boyhood years, but was not able to afford the high cost of flying lessons. So, upon leaving school in 1927, he started developing a simulator, an exercise which took him 18 months. His first pilot trainer, which debuted in 1929, resembled an overgrown toy airplane from the outside, with short wooden wings and fuselage mounted on a universal joint. Organ bellows from the Link organ factory, the business his family owned and operated in Binghamton, New York, driven by an electric pump, made the trainer pitch and roll as the pilot worked the controls.
Link's first military sales came as a result of the Air Mail scandal, when the Army Air Corps took over carriage of U.S. Air Mail. Twelve pilots were killed in a 78-day period due to their unfamiliarity with Instrument Flying Conditions. The large scale loss of life prompted the Air Corps to look at a number of solutions, including Link's pilot trainer. The Air Corps was given a stark demonstration of the potential of instrument training when, in 1934, Link flew in to a meeting in conditions of fog that the Air Corps evaluation team regarded as unflyable. As a result, the Air Corps ordered the first six pilot trainers at $3,500 each.
Link and his company had struggled through the Depression years but after gaining Air Corps interest the business expanded rapidly and during World War II, the ANT-18 Basic Instrument Trainer, known to tens of thousands of fledgling pilots as the "Blue Box" (although it was painted in colors other than blue in other countries), was standard equipment at every air training school in the United States and Allied nations. During the war years, Link produced over 10,000 Blue Boxes, turning one out every 45 minutes.
Maps Link Trainer
Link Trainer models
Several models of Link Trainers were sold in a period ranging from 1934 through to the late 1950s. These trainers kept pace with the increased instrumentation and flight dynamics of aircraft of their period, but retained the electrical and pneumatic design fundamentals pioneered in the first Link.
Trainers built from 1934 up to the early 1940s had a color scheme that featured a bright blue fuselage and yellow wings and tail sections. These wings and tail sections had control surfaces that actually moved in response to the pilot's movement of the rudder and stick. However, many trainers built during mid to late World War II did not have these wings and tail sections due to material shortages and critical manufacturing times.
Pilot Maker
The Pilot Maker was Link's first model. It was an evolution of his 1929 prototype and was used in Mr. Link's Link Flying School and later by other flying schools. During the Depression years versions of the Pilot Maker were also sold to amusement parks. In fact, his patent (US1825462 A) for the Pilot Maker was titled Combination Training Device for Student Aviators and Entertainment Apparatus.
ANT-18
The most prolific version of the Link Trainer was the ANT-18 (Army Navy Trainer model 18), which was in its turn, a slightly enhanced version of Link's C3 model. This model was also produced in Canada for both the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force with a somewhat modified instrument panel, where its model designation was D2. It was used by many countries for pilot training before and during the Second World War, especially in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
The ANT-18 featured rotation through all three axes, effectively simulated all flight instruments, and modeled common conditions such as pre-stall buffet, overspeed of the retractable undercarriage, and spinning. It was fitted with a removable opaque canopy, which could be used to simulate blind flying, and was particularly useful for instrument and navigation training.
ANT-18 design and construction
The ANT-18 consists of two main components:
The first major component is the trainer itself. The trainer consists of a wooden box approximating the shape of a fuselage and cockpit, which is connected via a universal joint to a base. Inside the cockpit is a single pilot's seat, primary and secondary aircraft controls, and a full suite of flight instruments. The base contains several complicated sets of air-driven bellows to create movement, a vacuum pump which both drives the bellows and provides input to a number of aircraft instruments, a device known as a Telegon Oscillator which supplies power the remaining pilot and instructor instruments, and a Wind Drift analog computer.
The second major component is an external instructor's desk, which consists of a large map table; a repeated display of the pilot's main flight instruments; and the Automatic Recorder, a motorized ink marker also known as the "crab." The crab is driven by the Wind Drift computer and moves across the glass surface of the map table, plotting the pilot's track. The desk includes circuits for the pilot and instructor to communicate with each other via headphones and microphones, and controls for the instructor to alter wind direction and speed.
The ANT-18 has three main sets of bellows. One set of four bellows (fore and aft and both sides of the cockpit) controls movement in the pitch and roll planes. A very complicated set of bellows at the front of the fuselage controls movement in the yaw plane. This Turning Motor is a complex set of 10 bellows, two crank shafts and various gears and pulleys derived from early player piano motors. The Turning Motor can rotate the entire fuselage through 360 degree circles at variable rates of speed. A set of electrical slip ring contacts in the lower base compartment supplies electrical continuity between the fixed base and the movable fuselage.
A third set simulates vibration such as stall buffet. Both the trainer and the instructor's station are powered from standard 110VAC/240VAC power outlets via a transformer, with the bulk of internal wiring being low voltage. Simulator logic is all analog and is based around vacuum tubes.
Surviving Trainers
A number of Link Trainers are known to survive around the world.
Australia
At least 22 ANT-18 trainers survive in Australia, in various states of repair. A number of these are in museums, but the majority are in the custody of the Australian Air Force Cadets, who were given them in the 1950s by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). They were maintained until 1975 by the RAAF, and as a result many are still in relatively good condition, being either fully or partially operational. The number of operational ANT-18s has been boosted in recent years by the restoration of several machines.
- One is on display at Fighter World in Williamtown, New South Wales.
- One is on display with 212 (City of Redcliffe) Squadron of the Australian Air Force Cadets at Redcliffe Aerodrome at Shapcott Base.
- One is on display with 603 Squadron of the Australian Air Force Cadets in Berri, South Australia.
- One is on display with 600 (Aviation Training) Squadron of the Australian Air Force Cadets in Adelaide, South Australia.
- One is on display at the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek, Western Australia.
- One is on display at the Queensland Air Museum in Caloundra, Queensland.
- One is on display at the South Australian Aviation Museum in Port Adelaide, South Australia.
- One is on display at the RAAF Museum in Point Cook, Victoria.
- One is in storage with Museums Victoria in Melbourne, Victoria.
Canada
- One is on display with the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association in Tillsonburg, Ontario.
- One is in storage at the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Toronto, Ontario.
- One is on display at the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- One is on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.
- One is on display at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Manitoba.
- One is on display at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta.
- One is on display at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
- One is on display at the North Atlantic Aviation Museum in Gander, Newfoundland. It was used in the television series Above and Beyond (2006).
- One is on display at the Claresholm Museum in Claresholm, Alberta. It is where the No. 15 Service Flying Training School was situated during World War II.
- One is on display at the No. 6 RCAF Dunnville Museum in Dunnville, Ontario. It is where the No. 6 Service Flying Training School was located.
- One is on display at The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta.
- Two are on display at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, British Columbia.
Czech republic
- 11240 - Link D.2 Trainer on display at the Prague Aviation Museum in Prague.
Netherlands
- One is on display at the Aviodrome in Lelystad, Flevoland. It is marked as PH-UBZ.
New Zealand
- One is on display at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Western Springs, Auckland. It includes the instructor's station.
- One is on display at the Ashburton Aviation Museum in Ashburton, Canterbury.
Malta
- One is on display at the Malta Aviation Museum in Ta' Qali, Attard.
Portugal
- One is on display at the Museu do Ar near Pero Pinheiro, Sintra. It was previously used by TAP Portugal.
Serbia
- One is on display at the Museum of Aviation in Sur?in, Belgrade.
- One is on display at the Aeroklub Valjevo in Valjevo, Kolubara.
South Africa
- One is in storage at the South African Airways Museum Society in Germiston, Gauteng.
Spain
- One is on display at the Fundación Infante de Orleans in Madrid.
Sweden
- One is on display at the Västerås Flygmuseum in Västerås, Västmanland.
United Kingdom
- Link D4 Trainer on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Duxford, Cambridgeshire.
- One is in storage at the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey.
- One is on display at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
- One is on display at the 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum in Diss, Norfolk.
- One is on display at the East Midlands Aeropark in Castle Donington, Leicestershire.
- One is on display at the Wings Museum near Balcombe, West Sussex.
- One is on display at the City of Norwich Aviation Museum in Horsham St Faith, Norfolk.
- One is on display at the Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre in Montrose, Angus.
- One is on display at the North East Aircraft Museum in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.
- One is on display with the Ridgeway Military and Aviation Research Group at RAF Welford in Welford, Berkshire.
- One is on display at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in Chichester, West Sussex.
- Two are on display at Wellingborough School in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. One utilizes the fuselage of a link trainer and has been converted to run a computer simulator.
- Two are on display at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum in Flixton, Suffolk.
- Three are on display at the Trenchard Museum at RAF Halton in Halton, Buckinghamshire.
- One is on display at the RAF Manston History Museum in Manston, Kent.
- One is on display with No. 130 (Bournemouth) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Boscombe, Dorset.
- One is on display with No. 195 (Grimsby) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
- One is on display with No. 328 (Kingston) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Kingston upon Thames, London.
- One is on display with No. 424 (Southampton) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Southampton, Hampshire.
- One is on display with No. 1063 (Herne Bay) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Herne Bay, Kent.
- One is on display with No. 1349 (Woking) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Woking, Surrey.
- One is on display at the Caernarfon Airworld Aviation Museum in Caernarfon, Gwynedd.
- One is on display at the Shuttleworth Collection in Old Warden, Bedfordshire.
- One is on display at the Brenzett Aeronautical Museum in Brenzett, Kent.
- One is on display at Rochester Airport in Rochester, Kent.
- One is on display at the Link Simulation & Training division headquarters in Crawley, West Sussex.
United States
- One is on display at the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center in Horseheads, New York.
- One in on display at Randolph Air Force Base in Universal City, Texas.
- One is on display at CAE Dallas in Dallas, Texas.
- One is on display at the British Flight Training School #1 Museum in Terrell, Texas. It includes the instructor's station.
- One in on display at the Post Mills Airport in Post Mills, Vermont. It is owned by Brian Boland.
- One is on display at the CAF Airpower Museum in Dallas, Texas.
- One is on display at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas.
- One is on display at the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay in Corpus Christi, Texas.
- One is on display at the United Airlines Flight Training Center in Denver, Colorado.
- One is on display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas. It includes the instructor's station.
- One is on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
- One is on display at the Greater Binghamton Airport in Binghamton, New York.
- One is on display at the United States Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker near Ozark, Alabama. It was added to their collection in 2006.
- One is on display at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in San Diego, California.
- One is on display at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Alabama.
- One is on display at the National Museum of WWII Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It includes the instructor's station.
- One is on display at the Wings of the North Air Museum in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. It was restored by Air Corps Aviation.
- One is on display at Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Florida.
- One is on display at the Roberson Museum and Science Center in Binghamton, New York. It is part of an exhibit about Edwin Link and is in a typical classroom setting.
- One is on display at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville, New York.
- One is on display at the Hill Aerospace Museum in Roy, Utah.
- One is on display at the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California.
- One is on display at the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is located in Link Trainer Building #8.
- One is on display at the Prairie Aviation Museum in Bloomington, Illinois. It includes the instructor's station.
- One is on display at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Titusville, Florida. It includes the instructor's station.
- One is on display at the Tri-State Warbird Museum in Batavia, Ohio. It includes the instructor's station.
- One is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
- One is on display at the American Treasure Tour in Oaks, Pennsylvania.
- One is on display at the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles, California.
- One is on display at the Western Museum of Flight in Torrance, California.
- One is on display at the Heritage Flight Museum in Burlington, Washington.
- One is on display at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, New York. This trainer has the instructors station and is fully operational apart from most of the instruments that were removed due to the radium paint on them. It is one of the few in the world that people can actually sit in and try. It was originally on display at Link Hall at Syracuse University before being transferred to the MOST and fully restored.
- One is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.
- One is on display at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho.
- One is on display at the MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio.
- One is on display at the MAAPS Military Museum in Malden, Missouri.
- One is on display at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
- One is on display at the Iowa Aviation Heritage Museum in Ankeny, Iowa.
- One is on display at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.
- One is on display at the Minter Field Air Museum in Shafter, California.
- One is on display at the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Port Townsend, Washington.
- One is on display at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base near Warner Robins, Georgia.
- One is on display at the Selfridge Military Air Museum at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Mount Clemens, Michigan. In addition, the museum has also built a replica.
- One is on display at the Airpower Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa.
- One is on display at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado.
- One is on display at the Hamilton Field History Museum in Novato, California.
- One is on display at the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
- One is in storage with the Carlsbad Army Airfield Museum in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
- One is in storage with the Quonset Air Museum in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
- One is on display with the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in South St. Paul, Minnesota.
- One is on display with the Rocky Mountain Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Grand Junction, Colorado.
- One is on display with Airbase Arizona of the Commemorative Air Force in Mesa, Arizona.
- One is under restoration with the Dixie Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Peachtree City, Georgia.
- A model C-3 blue box and a GAT-1 general aviation trainer are on display at the Air Victory Museum in Lumberton, New Jersey.
- Two Link Trainers are on display at the Greater Saint Louis Air & Space Museum in Cahokia, Illinois.
- One is on display at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, with a second, partially restored one in storage.
- A Blue Box and a General Aviation Trainer are on display at the CT&I Techworks! in Binghamton, New York.
- Five link trainers are in storage at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility of the National Air and Space Museum in Suitland, Maryland: including a model ANT-18, a 1946 "Model F, C-8", a "pilot maker" from 1930, and a modified 1986 GAT-1 general aviation trainer.
- Three additional Link Trainers are maintained by the corporate successor to Link Aviation, L3 Link Simulation and Training, at its Arlington, Texas headquarters.
- Two Link Trainers are on display at the Museum of Flight restoration facility at Paine Field near Seattle, Washington. One is in fully functional condition with the adjoining instructors table.
- The Millville Army Air Field Museum at the Millville Airport, Millville, New Jersey owns two Link Trainers, and has one, operational, on display in the World War II Link Trainer building.
- A circa 1943 Link Trainer with instructor's desk is on display at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Mountain View, Calif. This trainer was physically and mechanically restored to full working order in 1992. This trainer did not originally have the wings and tail assembly installed. They were often omitted on trainers made during World War II. However, a set of "paddle style" wings and tail assembly was manufactured from original Link documentation specs, and added during the restoration. This trainer has been moved and is now on public display at the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum, Moffett Field, Mountain View, CA.
See also
- Air safety
- Bárány chair
- Flight simulation
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
External links
- The Link Company (now part of L-3 Communications)
- The Link Trainer
- Edwin Link Bio
- Link Trainer History
Source of article : Wikipedia
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