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Link Aviation Trainer
By Bob Taylor

Previous posts under this title have been a fun read.  Adding to
that, here is my own small contribution.

After Ozark Airlines and Trans World Airlines (TWA) merged in 1986,
the main training facility was located at the former Ozark facility in
St. Louis, near Lambert Airport.  In the large lobby of that building
was a museum relating to airline history, with the emphasis being on
navigation.  Display cases were full of sextants, charts, plotters,
and other navigation tools.

Located prominently on the lobby floor was an exquisitely restored
vintage Link trainer.  Peeking inside, one could see ladder chains and
air motors along with other pneumatic devices.  It was my understanding
that the restored Link was owned by a private individual who loaned it
for display.

Of course, further back in the building were modern day simulators
built by various companies which were used to keep the pilots trained.
When TWA had its former training center in Kansas City, at
13th & Baltimore, some of those modern trainers were actually built by Link.
I'm not certain, but I believe the Boeing 707 trainer was a Link.

Simulators have become super sophisticated.  When I visited Vance Air
Force Base, Oklahoma, this past summer I got to fly a T-38/C simulator.
I was able to shoot missiles, drop bombs, make takeoffs and landings,
plus rendezvous with a KC-10 refueling tanker.

Bob Taylor
Missouri



(Message sent Wed, 31 Dec 2014 12:02:38 -0600 , from time zone -0600.)

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