For trainee pilots, as well as classroom theory and time in the air, there would be time spent in a machine called a Link Trainer. Designed in the USA in the 1920's by Edwin A. Link, this contraption allowed rudimentary piloting skills to be learned without fear of serious injury. As an introduction to night flying, all took blind-flying instruction in the Link. Movement of the trainer is accomplished by vacuum operated bellows, controlled by valves connected to the control wheel (or stick) and rudder pedals. An instructor sat at the desk and transmitted radio messages which the student in the Link heard through his earphones. Inside the "cockpit", the student relied on his instruments to "fly" the Link through various manoeuvers while his navigational "course" was traced on a map on the desk by the three-wheeled "crab". Slip stream simulators gave the controls the feeling of air passing over control surfaces, and a rough air generator added additional realism during the "flight".
The 'Link' was the first true flight simulator, and provided safe training to hundreds of thousands of student pilots during the 1930s and 40s.
There were a series of standard exercises to be mastered on the link trainer and it was often housed in it's own purpose built building at many RAF stations.
My Grandfather spent 8 hours and 5 minutes training in the Link and passed with an assessment of 'Average'. I expect he was very pleased to see the back of it!
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