Edwin A. Link provided a giant steep forward when in 1931 he received a patent on his “pilot maker” training device. He had perfected his design in the basement of this father's piano and organ factory in Binghamton, N.Y. In 1934 though, after a series of tragic accidents while flying the air mail, the Army Air Corp ( Air Force of its day ) bought six Link trainers to assist in training pilots to fly at night and in bad weather relying only on instruments. The Link trainer we have at the Prairie Aviation Museum was built in 1941 along with the other parts in the diorama.


Although the Army Air Forces ( Army Air Corp ) aviation cadets flew various trainer aircraft, virtually all took blind-flying instruction in the Link. Movement of the trainer is accomplished by vacuum operated bellows, controlled by values connected to the control-wheel (or stick) and rudder pedals. An the instructor sat at the desk and transmitted radio messages which the student in the Link trainer heard through his earphones. Inside the “cockpit” the student relied on his instruments to “fly” through various maneuvers while his navigational “course” was traced on a map on the desk by the three wheeled “crab.” Slip stream simulators gave the controls the feeling of air passing over control surface and a rough air generator added additional realism during the “flight.” (U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet/Link Trainer)


The Link Trainer was leading technology of its time. It can be conjectured that without this mechanism many more military pilots throughout the world would have lost their lives because of the lack of training prior to their going into air combat. The Museum is pleased to have one a few Link trainers located throughout the United States. Although we do not “fly” out trainer it has be operational sometime in the past 5-10 years. Stop by and take a look in the James Oberman Theater area.