Finally got to fly one!
Fri May 02, 2008 7:58 pm
Okay, so it's no big deal to most of y'all, but I've been wanting to "fly" a Link Trainer ever since I saw one as a kid. Well, today I finally got to. I'm up here in Minneapolis/St. Paul (performing inspections on a few ol' airplanes), and the Minnesota Wing of the CAF just happened to have a fully operational Link Trainer on display. Well, after performing the inspections on the Warbirds, I decided to do an operational inspection of their Link. 
After some begging and grovelling, I managed to get Art Minkel to spool the thing up and let me climb aboard. It was awesome!!!
I know these are stupid lookin' pictures, but I don't care. It was fun.
Here I am in a steep dive to the left (this thing was more difficult to fly than I thought). Initially, I felt like a woman taking a driving test...I just couldn't do anything right.
But eventually, I got hang of it. After some "VFR" flight, we ultimately closed the door and the "canopy" and I was flying blind. Have I mentioned yet that I had fun? 
This particular Link Trainer has and interesting story. The "tail number" is the actual number for this trainer and it was made in late 1940. It was obviously used by the U.S. Military for many years, during the War and for quite a while afterwards. Eventually, Northwest Airlines purchased it and actually used it for an IFR training tool. And get this...Northwest used it until it was finally retired in 1985!!! The MN Wing of the CAF eventually obtained it and restored it back to it's original colors and made it once again fully operational. I mean, everything works on it.
Now, I realize that the modern day kid who is raised on Play Stations and Microsoft Flight Simulator games may think that the Link Trainer is nothing more than a fifty cent ride that you'd find in the entry way at Wal Mart, but to me, getting to fly the Link made me smile about as much as the first time I flew an open cockpit airplane or something. Perhaps it was the years of waiting that made it fun for me, but that's what's neat about those of us intersted in Warbirds. What may be mundane to many folks is interesting and fun to us. I suspect that, even though many of you would never admit it, you'd fly a Link Trainer if given a chance as well.
Gary
After some begging and grovelling, I managed to get Art Minkel to spool the thing up and let me climb aboard. It was awesome!!!
I know these are stupid lookin' pictures, but I don't care. It was fun.
Here I am in a steep dive to the left (this thing was more difficult to fly than I thought). Initially, I felt like a woman taking a driving test...I just couldn't do anything right.
But eventually, I got hang of it. After some "VFR" flight, we ultimately closed the door and the "canopy" and I was flying blind. Have I mentioned yet that I had fun?
This particular Link Trainer has and interesting story. The "tail number" is the actual number for this trainer and it was made in late 1940. It was obviously used by the U.S. Military for many years, during the War and for quite a while afterwards. Eventually, Northwest Airlines purchased it and actually used it for an IFR training tool. And get this...Northwest used it until it was finally retired in 1985!!!
The MN Wing of the CAF eventually obtained it and restored it back to it's original colors and made it once again fully operational. I mean, everything works on it.
Now, I realize that the modern day kid who is raised on Play Stations and Microsoft Flight Simulator games may think that the Link Trainer is nothing more than a fifty cent ride that you'd find in the entry way at Wal Mart, but to me, getting to fly the Link made me smile about as much as the first time I flew an open cockpit airplane or something. Perhaps it was the years of waiting that made it fun for me, but that's what's neat about those of us intersted in Warbirds. What may be mundane to many folks is interesting and fun to us. I suspect that, even though many of you would never admit it, you'd fly a Link Trainer if given a chance as well.
Gary
Fri May 02, 2008 8:06 pm
That is very cool Gary. I've seen them at a few museum's and they do look like fun 
And it didnt even cost you Quarter.
Fri May 02, 2008 8:06 pm
You're such a big ol' airplane geek! I wish I coulda been mnext in line lol! 
Link
Fri May 02, 2008 8:19 pm
Gary, one of the reasons I picked Flightsafety for my instrument training was because they still had a Link in use back in the 80's and it was cool. Not that easy to master either. It sort of looks like a cute toy, but just like a Stearman it trained men whose lives and their crews depended on what they learned. They also had a sophisticated Frasca (a la Rudy) simulator, but they wouldn't let us basic IFR students touch it. By the way you and it seem to have some aerodynamic similarities, any chance you share the same designer? Gotcha!
I seem to recall that Mr. Link went on to develop underwater research vessels also, but I might be way off on that.
I seem to recall that Mr. Link went on to develop underwater research vessels also, but I might be way off on that.
Last edited by Bill Greenwood on Fri May 02, 2008 8:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Fri May 02, 2008 8:19 pm
Gary,
That's awesome that you got the chanec to play in the Link. My museum's got one, which a couple of years ago was still operational. Mind you, we had a little after market mod. done to it making it a convertable and with shorter wings.
For a while we sold rides in it, and then I don't know what happened, but we don't use it anymore. It's just a training display now.
Anyways, I'm glad to see you finally filled a childhood dream of yours.
Cheers,
David
That's awesome that you got the chanec to play in the Link. My museum's got one, which a couple of years ago was still operational. Mind you, we had a little after market mod. done to it making it a convertable and with shorter wings.
For a while we sold rides in it, and then I don't know what happened, but we don't use it anymore. It's just a training display now.
Anyways, I'm glad to see you finally filled a childhood dream of yours.
Cheers,
David
Fri May 02, 2008 8:22 pm
The FAA still recognizes time in the Link toward your approaches and IFR "simulator" flying for currency. There is supposed to be a fully functional Link in Kansas somewhere that you can log time in.
Fri May 02, 2008 8:25 pm
Great pics Gary!!! Highly cool!
Fri May 02, 2008 9:13 pm
you'd fly a Link Trainer if given a chance as well.
Yes, and I'd probably find a way to crash the darn thing too.
Fri May 02, 2008 10:46 pm
Our museum also has a Link that is slowly coming back to life. Lots of vacuum leaks and other little gliches to take care of. But we've got a retired Boeing engineer and retired ex-Link instructor working on it so one of these days...
Glad you had fun!
Glad you had fun!
Fri May 02, 2008 10:48 pm
I "flew" one in 1974 and hated it, but at the time I had a lot if actual IFR time.
Sat May 03, 2008 12:43 am
Hal B,
If you would, please ask your Link instructor if he had any experience with the Link Celestial Navigation Trainer. I've done some research on that synthetic trainer and would love to talk to anyone with hands-on experience.
Thanks,
Scott
If you would, please ask your Link instructor if he had any experience with the Link Celestial Navigation Trainer. I've done some research on that synthetic trainer and would love to talk to anyone with hands-on experience.
Thanks,
Scott
Sat May 03, 2008 8:13 am
I thought that was your F1 bird!
Sat May 03, 2008 8:57 am
muddyboots wrote:You're such a big ol' airplane geek! I wish I coulda been next in line lol!
Sat May 03, 2008 9:37 am
That's cool! We have a Link trainer at Camarillo, but I don't think it has worked in years. Too bad, it looks like fun.
Sat May 03, 2008 11:05 am
We have one at MAPS that works, it is just being finalized. Its not quite "on" yet. You may move the stick a bit and it moves a bit more than you would think.