Shuttleworth's Link Trainer

Thanks Moggy,

It suddenly came to me whilst writing the post that anyone (including me) can play pilots at pretty much anytime these days thanks to the plethora of PC-based games/simulations.

Back in my youth the three or four days I had to wait until I could next get behind the controls of that Link seemed to drag on for ever 🙁 , and the ten or fifteen minutes in it were pure magic when they did arrive 🙂 . I could never understand why many of the other air cadets weren’t interested in flying it – though I never complained as it meant more “stick time” for those of us that were 😎 .

Now if I could only combine the touchy-feely nature of that Link with the graphics and processing power of a decent PC game and I’m onto a winner….what do you mean Redifusion/Marconi/Thales et al all got there first…😡 .

Paul F

I guess perhaps the unit has since had their electronics upgraded – but with so many youngsters having access to Flight Sims on their home PC’s these days I wonder if anyone really enjoys the Link as much as we did in those days when it was our only regular chance to play pilots.

Happy days…

Paul F

Great post Paul 🙂

Moggy

There is one with the Ridgeway Aviation Society ar RAF Welford. It works well.

Working Link Trainers

The ATC Squadron in Woking, Surrey (UK) had a fully functioning Link trainer in the late 70’s, which was still working when I attended a reunion in the late 80’s or early 1990’s. Don’t know if it’s still there, or if its still working. Many other ATC squadrons also had them at about that time.

At one stage the Woking unit were thinking of replacing the crab and it’s table with a more “modern” X/Y plotter, (remember the late 70’s was pretty much before the widespread availibility of desk-top PC’s – though I guess many forumites can’t imagine life without PC’s 😮 ).

I spent many happy hours flying that Link, learning ILS/beam approaches, fighting against variable, and often unpredictable wind directions and speeds (when the guys on the desk got bored they simply fed in a new wind direction and strength, leading the poor “pilot” to wonder why his near perfect ILS readings were suddenly going haywire 😀 ).

We even had an annual “fly-off” competiton for a nice mounted Spitfire trophy, which the winner kept for a year before returning it. The competiiton involved flying a predetermined pattern using stopwatch, ASI, art horizon, Turn and Slip, and compass bearings whilst completely isolated “under the hood”. After maybe half an hour each in the cramped, dimly lit, warm, and very stuffy interior we each emerged dripping wet, and all the competitiors then analysed the crab traces of each competitors attempt and agreed a winner. The lucky winner also got to keep one of a diminishing stock of prints of a Spitfire, each of which had been signed by none other than Jeffrey Quill himself. My Link skills were never quite up to winning one of those 🙁 .

I also remember the long wait while the 1940-vintage valves (remember them? None of those new fangled transistor thingies) had to warm up before the unit could be used, and the horrible noise the unit made if it was allowed to “stall”, and the whole “cockpit” unit suddenly fell forward onto the stops from it’s nose-high attitude. Heavens knows what that sort of treatment did to the bellows units – needless to say it was frowned upon. The spare valves themselves were treated like golddust, as spares were near impossible to find, and once spare valves were gone then the unit was likely to be scrapped.

I guess perhaps the unit has since had their electronics upgraded – but with so many youngsters having access to Flight Sims on their home PC’s these days I wonder if anyone really enjoys the Link as much as we did in those days when it was our only regular chance to play pilots.

Happy days…

Paul F

The RAAF Museum example is, I believe complete, and is set up with a generator, bellows, crab and table, and I’m told is operational.

Interestingly for those not familiar with RAAF aircraft, they were all given an Axx-xxx number – A68-170 being the colours the RAAF Museum’s airworthy CAC Mustang is painted in.

The ‘plane that never flew got a superstitious safety-first serial of A13-xxx. The RAAF Museum’s example is A13-159.

Apparently the Link advert stated: “The trainer that will do everything a ‘plane will do… except crash!”

It could be made to work as long as the bellows material is replaced, if i remember correctly even the crab should work, but alas there are more pressing projects, you never say never though.

At the Midland Air Museum, Coventry – we have several examples. I’m aware that one is certainly servicable, and has been demonstrated in the past to eager spectators 😀 but of the others, I’m not sure. I know very little about them to be fair, but as I’m there this weekend I can find out more.. unless someone with more info can post here? The working example is what I would call a ‘proper’ pre-war example in my limited knowledge of em. 😮

Does anyone know if there are any serviceable Link trainers in the UK? They were excellent instrument trainers for the RAF, and would probably be just as useful today for the same purpose.