Simulator
Name/Title
SimulatorEntry/Object ID
1972.044.001Description
1972.044 Boat Type: Training Simulator Builder: Link Aviation, Inc Designer: Edwin Link Model: N/A Original Power: American Bantam Marine Conversion Current Power: Original Date Built: 1941 Edwin Link (1904-1981) was a successful engineer who worked in the fields of aviation and underwater archaeology. His most successful invention was the flight simulator, known as the "Link Trainer" or the "Blue Box." This was the first flight simulator to have been invented for the purpose of training pilots without the danger of crashing. It used a series of bellows to simulate the turbulence of air in landing. Link Aviation, which Link founded with his wife in 1931 and managed until 1954, was based in Binghamton, NY. An original "Blue Box" is on display at Greater Binghamton Airport. Link also made simulators for the British Royal Air Force, which required that they be made within the British Empire. This led Mr. Link to establish a factory in Gananoque; the factory where our Link Trainer was made. Where the "Blue Box" was created to teach pilots how to land on a runway, our Link Trainer, called the "Aqua Trainer", was meant to teach them how to land on the water. It is a remarkable piece of engineering, making use of two large hydrofoils to provide both lift and stability, like underwater wings. According to letters to the Museum from Mr. Link, this vehicle was the first use of flaps on a hydrofoil, and of a snorkel-mounted engine. The underwater portion of the craft is essentially an airplane, with propeller forward, wings with mobile flaps, and in the back an elevator and rudder. Even so, it is difficult to see how this apparatus would truly simulate seaplane flight, since the hydrofoils would cause the vehicle to react to the dynamics of the water, not the dynamics of the air. The engine is an American Bantam 4-cylinder, marinized by a marine engine distributor in Syracuse. The vehicle was built and tested in Gananoque on the St. Lawrence River. Records indicate that the Link Aqua Trainer was a storage problem for the Museum in the early 1970s and suffered somewhat as a result of being left outside, nearly resulting in Mr. Link taking it back and giving it to a museum in Florida. Since then it has been cleaned up and painted, and kept indoors. It is currently in fair condition, the paint being old and chipped, and part of the cockpit coming un-attached. EVS 08Collection
BoatsAcquisition
Accession
1972.044Source or Donor
Link, EdwinMade/Created
Manufacturer
Link Manufacturing Co.Date made
1941Place
Location
Gananoque, Ontario, CanadaNotes
Early Date: 1941 Engine: 0.000Other Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
Old NumberOther Number
801Location
Wall
EastRoom
Bay 7Building
*Don Doebler Collections Storage FacilityWall
EastRoom
Bay 4Building
*Don Doebler Collections Storage Facility*Cleveland E. Dodge Memorial Launch Building