Link Trainer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Link trainer in use at a British Fleet Air Arm station in 1943

The term Link Trainer, also known as the "Blue box" and "Pilot Trainer"[1] is commonly used to refer to a series of flight simulators produced between the early 1930s and early 1950s by Link Aviation Devices, 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,[2] as were pilots of nations as diverse as Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, 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".[3]

The Link Flight Trainer has been designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.[2] The Link Company, now the Link Simulation & Training division of L3Harris Technologies, continues to make aerospace simulators.[4]

History[]

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. The project 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.[5]

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.[5] As a result, the Air Corps ordered the first six pilot trainers on 23 June 1934 for $3,500 each. In 1936, the more advanced Model C was introduced.[6][7]

American Airlines became the first commercial airline to purchase a Link trainer in 1937.[8] Prior to World War II, Link trainers were also sold to the U.S. Navy, Civil Aeronautics Administration, Germany, Japan, England, Russia, France, and Canada.[9]

World War II[]

Link Trainer at Freeman Field, Seymour, Indiana. Freeman Field was a US Army Air Force field in World War II.

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 AN-T-18 Basic Instrument Trainer, known to tens of thousands of fledgling pilots as the "Blue Box" (although it was painted in different colors 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.[4][3]

During World War II, Link trainers were sometimes run by women.[10][11]

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.[3]

AN-T-18[]

The most prolific version of the Link Trainer was the AN-T-18 (Army Navy Trainer model 18), which was 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.[12] 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 AN-T-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.

AN-T-18 design and construction[]

The instrument panel of the Link Trainer at the Shuttleworth Collection in the UK

The AN-T-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.[13] 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 which supplies power to 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 duplicate 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.[14]

The AN-T-18 has three main sets of bellows. One set of four bellows (fore and aft and both sides of the cockpit) controls movement about the pitch and roll axes. A very complicated set of bellows at the front of the fuselage controls movement about the yaw axis. 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.

The third set of bellows simulates vibration such as stall buffet.[15] 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.

Variants[]

Pilot Maker
First production model. Development of 1929 prototype.[citation needed]

"Blue Box"[]

A
Procedural trainer that included only basic instruments.[16]
C
Known as the C-2 by the United States Army Air Forces.[17] Added 10 advanced instruments, radio communication with an instructor, cockpit lights, and automatic course recording.[6]
C-2
Commercial version not used by the military.[17]
C-3
Used by the United States Army Air Forces.[17] Includes automatic wind drift device and radio simulator.[18]
C-5
Used by the United States Army Air Forces.[17] Includes automatic wind drift device and actual radio equipment.[19]
C-8
Developed in 1945 from the North American T-6 Texan with more instrumentation than previous versions. Known as the 1-CA-1 by the U.S. Navy and the Model F.[12]
D
Export version.[17]
D-1
Used by the British military.[17]
D-2
Used by the British military.[17] Manufactured in Canada.[12]
D4
Used by the British military. Built under license in England by Air Trainers Ltd of Aylesbury.[20]
E
Commercial version not used by the military.[17]
E Sp.
Slight modification for Army and Navy use. Known as the C-4 by the United States Army Air Forces.[17]
E-1
Used by the United States Army Air Forces.[17]
E-2
Used by the United States Army Air Forces.[17]
AN-2550-1
Developed from the C-3, it added landing gear, propeller pitch and flap controls.[12] Also known as the AN-T-18.[17]

Postwar[]

D4 Mk II
Modification of the D4 to represent the BAC Jet Provost.[21]
Model 45
Advanced version with instruments similar to T-6.[22][23]

Surviving trainers[]

Australia[]

At least 22 AN-T-18 trainers survive in Australia, in various states of repair.[24] 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 AN-T-18s has been boosted in recent years by the restoration of several machines.

Belgium[]

  • One is on display at the Stampe and Vertongen Museum in Antwerp.[citation needed]

Canada[]

Link Trainer at the Western Canada Aviation Museum
  • One is on display with the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association in Tillsonburg, Ontario.[citation needed]
  • One is in storage at the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Toronto.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta.[36][37][38][39][40][41][42]
  • One is on display at the British Columbia Aviation Museum in Sidney, British Columbia.[43]
  • One is on display at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.[44]
  • One is on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.[45]
  • One is on display at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Manitoba.[46]
  • One is under restoration at the Comox Air Force Museum in Comox, British Columbia.[47]
  • One is on display at the North Atlantic Aviation Museum in Gander, Newfoundland.[48][49]
  • One is on display at the Claresholm Museum in Claresholm, Alberta.[50]
  • One is on display at the No. 6 RCAF Dunnville Museum in Dunnville, Ontario.[51]
  • One is on display at The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta.[52]
  • Two are on display at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, British Columbia.[53]
  • Two are on display at the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton, Alberta.[54]

Czech Republic[]

  • 11240 – Link D.2 Trainer on display at the Prague Aviation Museum in Prague.[55]

Finland[]

One on display in the lobby of Finnair's training center.[56]

Ireland[]

Luxembourg[]

  • One is on display at the 385th Bomb Group Memorial Museum in Perlé, Redange.[58]

Netherlands[]

  • One is on display at the Aviodrome in Lelystad, Flevoland. It is marked as PH-UBZ.[citation needed]

New Zealand[]

Malta[]

Portugal[]

  • One is on display at the Museu do Ar near Pero Pinheiro, Sintra. It was previously used by TAP Portugal.[62]

Serbia[]

  • One is on display at the Museum of Aviation in Surčin, Belgrade.[63]
  • One is on display at the Aeroklub Valjevo in Valjevo, Kolubara.[citation needed]

South Africa[]

  • One is in storage at the South African Airways Museum Society in Germiston, Gauteng.[64]

Sri Lanka[]

Spain[]

  • One is on display at the Fundación Infante de Orleans in Madrid.[66]

Sweden[]

United Kingdom[]

The Link Trainer at the Shuttleworth Collection in the UK
  • A D4 is on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Duxford, Cambridgeshire.[68]
  • One is in storage at the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey.[69]
  • One is on display at the 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum in Diss, Norfolk.[70]
  • A D4 is on display at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection in Salisbury, Wiltshire.[71][72]
  • One is on display at the City of Norwich Aviation Museum in Horsham St Faith, Norfolk.[73]
  • One is on display at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum at London Colney, Hertfordshire.[74]
  • One is on display at the East Midlands Aeropark in Castle Donington, Leicestershire.[75]
  • One is on display at the Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre in Montrose, Angus.[76]
  • One is on display at the North East Aircraft Museum in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.[77]
  • One is on display with the Ridgeway Military and Aviation Research Group at RAF Welford in Welford, Berkshire.[78]
  • One is on display at the Sywell Aviation Museum in Northampton, Northamptonshire.[79]
  • One is on display at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in Chichester, West Sussex.[80][81][82]
  • One is on display at the Wings Museum near Balcombe, West Sussex.[83][84]
  • Two are on display at Wellingborough School in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.[85] One uses the fuselage of a link trainer and has been converted to run a computer simulator.[86][82]
  • Three are on display at the Trenchard Museum at RAF Halton in Halton, Buckinghamshire.[20][87]
  • Four are on display at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum in Flixton, Suffolk.[21][88]
  • One is on display at the RAF Manston History Museum in Manston, Kent.[89][better source needed]
  • One is on display with No. 130 (Bournemouth) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Boscombe, Dorset.[90]
  • One is on display with No. 195 (Grimsby) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.[91]
  • One is on display with No. 328 (Kingston) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Kingston upon Thames, London.[citation needed]
  • One is on display with No. 424 (Southampton) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Southampton, Hampshire.[citation needed]
  • One is on display with No. 1063 (Herne Bay) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Herne Bay, Kent.[citation needed]
  • One is on display with No. 1349 (Woking) Squadron of the Air Training Corps in Woking, Surrey.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Caernarfon Airworld Aviation Museum in Caernarfon, Gwynedd.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Gatwick Aviation Museum in Charlwood, Surrey.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Jet Age Museum in Staverton, Gloucestershire.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Newark Air Museum in Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Shuttleworth Collection in Old Warden, Bedfordshire.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Brenzett Aeronautical Museum in Brenzett, Kent.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at Rochester Airport in Rochester, Kent.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Link Simulation & Training division headquarters in Crawley, West Sussex.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Romney Marsh Wartime Collection in ,.[citation needed]

United States[]

A Link Trainer on display at the Air Zoo
A Link Trainer on display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum
  • One is on display at the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center in Horseheads, New York.[92][better source needed]
  • One in on display at Randolph Air Force Base in Universal City, Texas.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at CAE Dallas in Dallas, Texas.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the United Airlines Flight Training Center in Denver, Colorado.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Greater Binghamton Airport in Binghamton, New York.[citation needed]
  • One in on display at the Post Mills Airport in Post Mills, Vermont. It is owned by Brian Boland.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the British Flight Training School No. 1 Museum in Terrell, Texas. It includes the instructor's station.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the CAF Airpower Museum in Dallas, Texas.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas.[citation needed]
  • A GAT-1 is on display at the College Park Aviation Museum in College Park, Maryland. It was previously owned by the University of Maryland's Aerospace Engineering Department.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the National Museum of WWII Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It includes the instructor's station.[93][better source needed]
  • One is on display at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum in Rio Grande, New Jersey.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the North Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame in Asheboro, North Carolina.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in San Diego, California.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Alabama.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas. It includes the instructor's station.[citation needed]
  • A model C-3 is under restoration at the Regional Military Museum in Houma, Louisiana.[citation needed]
  • 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.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay in Corpus Christi, Texas.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at the Wings of the North Air Museum in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.[94] It was restored by Air Corps Aviation.[citation needed]
  • One is on display at Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Florida.[95]
  • One is on display in the Harris Corporation Atrium of the Engineering II building at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, 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.[96][2]
  • One is on display at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, New York.[97]
  • One is on display at the American Treasure Tour in Oaks, Pennsylvania.[98]
  • One is on display at the Airpower Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa.[99][100][101][102]
  • One is on display at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California.[103]
  • One is on display at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.[104]
  • One is on display at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.[105]
  • One is on display at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville, New York.[106]
  • One is on display at the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles, California.[107]
  • One is on display at the Heritage Flight Museum in Burlington, Washington.[108]
  • One is on display at the Hill Aerospace Museum in Roy, Utah.[109]
  • One is on display at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California.[110]
  • One is on display at the Illinois Aviation Museum in Bolingbrook, Illinois.[111]
  • One is on display at the Iowa Aviation Heritage Museum in Ankeny, Iowa.[112]
  • One is on display at the MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio.[113]
  • One is on display at the MAAPS Military Museum in Malden, Missouri.[114]
  • One is on display at the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum in St. Paul, Minnesota.[115]
  • One is on display at the Minter Field Air Museum in Shafter, California.[116]
  • One is on display at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base near Warner Robins, Georgia.[117]
  • One is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.[118]
  • One is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.[119]
  • One is on display at the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is located in Link Trainer Building No. 8.[120]
  • One is on display at the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Port Townsend, Washington.[121]
  • One is on display at the Prairie Aviation Museum in Bloomington, Illinois. It includes the instructor's station.[122]
  • 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.[123][124]
  • One is on display at the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California.[125]
  • One is on display at the Tri-State Warbird Museum in Batavia, Ohio. It includes the instructor's station.[126]
  • One is on display at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Titusville, Florida. It includes the instructor's station.[127]
  • One is on display at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.[128]
  • One is on display at the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho.[129]
  • One is on display at the Western Museum of Flight in Torrance, California.[130][131]
  • One is on display at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado.[132]
  • One is on display at the Hamilton Field History Museum in Novato, California.[133][134]
  • One is on display at the World War II Flight Training Museum in Douglas, Georgia.[135]
  • One is on display at the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan.[136]
  • One is on display at The International Museum of World War II in Natick, Massachusetts.[137]
  • One is on display at the Daytona Beach Campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.[138]
  • One is in storage with the Carlsbad Army Airfield Museum in Carlsbad, New Mexico.[139][failed verification]
  • One is in storage with the Quonset Air Museum in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.[140]
  • One is on display with the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in South St. Paul, Minnesota.[141]
  • One is on display with the Rocky Mountain Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Grand Junction, Colorado.[142]
  • One is on display with Airbase Arizona of the Commemorative Air Force in Mesa, Arizona.[143]
  • One is under restoration at the Honor Point Military & Aerospace Museum in Spokane, Washington.[144]
  • One is under restoration with the Dixie Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Peachtree City, Georgia.[145][146][147]
  • One is under restoration with the Lobo Wing of the Commemorative Air Force in Moriarty, New Mexico.[148]
  • A model C-3 and a GAT-1 general aviation trainer are on display at the Air Victory Museum in Lumberton, New Jersey.[149][150]
  • Two Link Trainers are on display at the Greater Saint Louis Air & Space Museum in Cahokia, Illinois.[151][152]
  • One is on display at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, with a second, partially restored one in storage.[153][154]
  • A Blue Box and a GAT-1 are on display at the CT&I Techworks! in Binghamton, New York.[155][156]
  • 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 AN-T-18, a 1946 "Model F, C-8", a "pilot maker" from 1930, and a modified 1986 GAT-1 general aviation trainer.[157][158][159][160][161]
  • Two are on display at Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York.[citation needed]
  • Three Link Trainers are maintained by the corporate successor to Link Aviation, L3Harris Link Training and Simulation, within various buildings at its Arlington, Texas facility.[citation needed]
  • 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.[162]
  • 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.[163]
  • 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.[164] 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.[citation needed]

See also[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Kelly 1970, p. 33.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c De Angelo, Joseph (10 June 2000). "The Link Flight Trainer" (PDF). ASME. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Van Hoek, Susan; Link, Marion Clayton (1993). From Sky to Sea, A Story of Edwin Link (2nd ed.). Flagstaff, AZ: Best Publishing Co. ISBN 0941332276.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Fact Sheet". National Museum of the US Air Force. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Hancock Cameron, Rebecca (1999). Training to Fly: Military Flight Training, 1907–1945 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  6. ^ "New Link Trainer". Aviation. Vol. 35 no. 9. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. September 1936. pp. 37, 40. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  7. ^ Page, Ray L. "Brief History of Flight Simulation": 4. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.132.5428. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ McIntosh, David M. (April 1988). "The Evolution of Instrument Flying in the U.S. Army" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Corinne Phillips Heads Colonnade Link Department", Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, Embry-Riddle Company, VI (17), p. 4, 13 August 1943, retrieved 3 November 2019
  10. ^ BIGGERSTAFF, VALERIE. "Carolyn Thompson, WWII Link Training Instructor". Appen Media. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Jaspers, Henrik (27 May 2004). "RESTORING AND OPERATING HISTORICAL AVIATION TRAINERS" (PDF). Wanadoo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2004. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  12. ^ Kelly 1970, pp. 70–71.
  13. ^ Kelly 1970, pp. 65–68.
  14. ^ Kelly 1970, pp. 65–66.
  15. ^ McIntosh, David M. (April 1988). "The Evolution of Instrument Flying in the U.S. Army" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l "Illustrated Parts Catalog for Link Instrument Flying Trainers" (PDF). TechWorks. 1 June 1943. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  17. ^ Technical Manual: Instrument Trainer Maintenance. War Department. 29 December 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  18. ^ Technical Manual: Instrument Trainer Maintenance. War Department. 29 December 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b "Link Instrument Flying Trainer Type D4" (PDF). Trenchard Museum RAF Halton. Trenchard Museum. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b "Flying Training Area". Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  21. ^ Fountain, Paul (May 1947). "The Mighty Link". Flying. Vol. 40 no. 5. Chicago, Illinois: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. pp. 40–42, 90. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  22. ^ "New Model of Link Trainer Simulates All Actual Flight Characteristics of Airplane". Binghamton Press. 1 February 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  23. ^ Weir, Greg; Boyd, Robert (29 September 2016). "RAAF A13 Link Trainer". ADF-Serials. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  24. ^ "Aviation Careers Expo". Australian Air Force Cadets. Australian Air Force Cadets. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  25. ^ Hartigan, Brian (15 February 2017). "The vintage Link Trainer". Contact. Contact Publishing Pty Ltd. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  26. ^ "Link Trainer". Aviation Heritage Museum. Aviation Heritage Museum. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Annual Report 2018-2019" (PDF). Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  28. ^ "LINK TRAINER C/N D4 282". Queensland Air Museum. Queensland Air Museum Inc. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  29. ^ "Displays". RAAF Museum. RAAF Museum. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  30. ^ "General Displays". South Australian Aviation Museum. South Australian Aviation Museum. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  31. ^ "Link Trainer". Victorian Collections. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  32. ^ "Link Trainer flight simulator A13-13". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  33. ^ "Flight Simulator – Link Trainer, Model AN-T-18, A13-32, 1941". Museums Victoria. Museums Victoria. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  34. ^ "Instrument flight simulator, Link Trainer, Serial No. AT5/2034, with accessories and manual, metal/wood/plastic/electrical components, Air Trainers Ltd, Aylesbury, England, United Kingdom, 1951". Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  35. ^ "1989 Spring & Summer Newsletter". Bomber Command Museum of Canada. Nanton Lancaster Society. 1989. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  36. ^ "1991 Spring & Summer Newsletter". Bomber Command Museum of Canada. Nanton Lancaster Society. 1991. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  37. ^ "1993 Fall & Winter Newsletter". Bomber Command Museum of Canada. Nanton Lancaster Society. 1993. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  38. ^ "1994 Fall & Winter Newsletter". Bomber Command Museum of Canada. Nanton Lancaster Society. 1994. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  39. ^ "1998 Fall & Winter Newsletter". Bomber Command Museum of Canada. Nanton Lancaster Society. 1998. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  40. ^ "2000 Spring & Summer Newsletter". Bomber Command Museum of Canada. Nanton Lancaster Society. 2000. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  41. ^ "2000 Fall & Winter Newsletter". Bomber Command Museum of Canada. Nanton Lancaster Society. 2000. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  42. ^ "Models and Displays". British Columbia Aviation Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
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Bibliography[]

  • Kelly, Lloyd L. (1970). The Pilot Maker. Interviewed by Parke, Robert B. (First ed.). New York: Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 0-448-02226-5. as told to Robert B. Parke
  • Van Hoek, Susan; Link, Marion Clayton (1993). From Sky to Sea: A Story of Edwin A. Link (2nd ed.). Best Publishing Co. ISBN 0941332276.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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