During Edwin Link's youth, he developed a great interest in science and mathematics as well as a fascination with things mechanical. He left high school in 1922 and started work in his father's factory, learning to build pianos and organs. At the same time, he began to take flying lessons. Later, in reflecting on the flying instruction he received, he concluded that the quality of instruction could be improved and costs reduced by using simulators on the ground. He put his mechanical skills to work and built a pilot trainer in 1929. This first trainer was a wooden fuselage with a blue painted cockpit and mounted on organ bellows. A vacuum pump operated the bellows and gave the fuselage necessary pitch and roll for "flight." This flight simulator began a totally new industry and revolution, which continues today, in the way aviators and astronauts are trained. From the initial simple pilot trainer designed to simulate the rudiments of airplane flight, the ubiquitous World War II "blue box" instrument trainer evolved to be followed by even more complex simulators which now provide a high degree of fidelity. In many cases, training for a specific aircraft may be completely carried out on the ground. As a result of Link's vision and inventiveness, many lives have been saved worldwide. In addition, the overall quality of training has been improved, and enormous resources have been conserved in terms of aircraft, fuel, and related infrastructure. Edwin Link retired from this endeavor in 1954. He then redirected his interests from aeronautics to oceanography, designing and developing unique diving systems and manned submersibles. Link passed away on September 7, 1981 at age 77.
Inducted in 1992.
Portrait Location: Hall of Fame Hallway