303 - The Link Trainer

Before the Second World War, learning to fly by instruments was one of the most difficult and dangerous skills a pilot had to master. Training had to be done in real aircraft, often in poor weather, and accidents were common. In the late 1920s, an American inventor named Edwin Albert Link came up with an ingenious solution. His Link Trainer, sometimes called the "Blue Box," allowed pilots to practise instrument flying safely on the ground using a mechanical flight simulator. By the time the war began, these machines had become an essential part of pilot training, and hundreds of thousands of Allied airmen first learned instrument flying inside one. To explore the story of the Link Trainer, I am joined by Robby Houben from the Belgian Royal Military Museum, which holds several examples of these remarkable machines. Robby also has an excellent video on his youtube channel - Two Dudes Talking Tanks - which looks at the Link Trainer in the museum. patreon.com/ww2podcast