Edwin Albert Link

Edwin Albert Link (born July 26, 1904 in Huntington ( Indiana ), USA; † September 7, 1981 in Binghamton (New York) , USA) was the inventor of the first flight simulator . These simulators were named Link-Trainer after him .

Life

Edwin Link's ancestors on his father's side came from Germany. The first link in his line of ancestors, Hans Linck (at that time still “Linck” ), was first mentioned in a document in 1417 in Wimpfen am Neckar, in what is now Baden-Württemberg . In 1910 Link moved with his family to Binghamton , New York State , where his father bought a bankrupt music company and converted it to the Link Piano and Organ Company of Binghamton, New York . Here Edwin began his career as an inventor. In the twenties he made his pilot's license at a considerable expense .

During his flight training he began to develop a training device with parts of organs from his father's factory between 1927 and 1929, with the help of which would-be pilots could learn to fly safely and cheaply without leaving the ground. Link gained experience with mechanics and pneumatics from piano and organ building. The trainee sat in a cabin isolated from the outside world, was able to steer like a real airplane and experienced the reactions to his manipulations in all three spatial axes. Link improved these reactions until a real flight could be convincingly imitated. In addition, he equipped the trainer with instruments for flying blind . The device was patented in 1930 .

Although successful, the trainer was first viewed as a toy and the first devices were sold to amusement parks. In 1934, after a series of accidents on nightly mail flights, the US Army Air Corps hired six of Links trainers to improve the pilot's training program. Suddenly the public became aware of this practical device and orders came from all parts of the world, including Germany , the Netherlands (KLM) and Japan (Imperial Navy, 1935). From 1941 onwards, all American pilots were trained by link trainers. During the Second World War , American pilots learned to fly instruments and radio localization during bad weather flights and when landing in Links trainers.

With the help of his wife Marion Clayton Link, whom he married in 1931, Edwin Link managed the very successful company "Link Aviation, Inc." which he sold in 1954. Then Edwin Link turned to underwater archeology and underwater research. The Link couple traveled extensively with their two sons, William Martin and Edwin Clayton, during which Link worked to improve their diving equipment to enable them to dive deeper, longer and safer. He was the first to use a mixture of oxygen and helium for breathing underwater.

Link was extraordinarily generous and donated to many foundations. His gifts to Binghamton University include Binghamton's first endowed chair ( "Edwin A. Link Organ Music" ). The Binghamton Airport site was named after him as Edwin A Link Field . An original Link trainer is on display at the airport.

Web links

• R. Bauman, “Innovations For Sky And Sea: The Ed Link Story,” John H. Evans Library Digital Collections, accessed March 30, 2019
• M. Clark, M. Hanscom, “Edwin A. Link” (Biography) , John H. Evans Library Digital Collections, accessed March 30, 2019