Edward A. Link

American inventor

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June 30, 2026

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Edward A. Link was an American inventor best known for creating the Link Trainer, the first effective flight simulator. This device replicated an airplane cockpit with instruments and controls, allowing pilots to train on the ground by simulating flight conditions. Link's invention was crucial for training pilots in "blind flying" using instruments alone, a skill that was risky to practice in actual aircraft. The U.S. government began purchasing thousands of Link Trainers in 1934, with their use expanding significantly as World War II approached.12

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flight simulator
…Trainer, to appear, devised by Edwin A. Link, a self-educated aviator and inventor from Binghamton, New York. By then, airplane instrumentation had been developed sufficiently to permit “blind” flying on instruments alone, but training pilots to do so involved considerable risk. Link built a model of an airplane cockpit equipped…
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…Trainer, to appear, devised by Edwin A. Link, a self-educated aviator and inventor from Binghamton, New York. By then, airplane instrumentation had been developed sufficiently to permit “blind” flying on instruments alone, but training pilots to do so involved considerable risk. Link built a model of an airplane cockpit equipped…
Read More