Edwin A. Link

Edwin A. Link
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Name	Edwin A. Link
Birth date	March 20, 1904
Birth place	Huntington, Indiana, United States
Death date	December 7, 1981
Death place	Binghamton, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Inventor; entrepreneur; aviator; underwater explorer
Known for	Development of the Link Trainer; contributions to aviation training and submersible design

Edwin A. Link

Edwin A. Link was an American inventor and entrepreneur best known for creating the Link Trainer, a pioneering flight simulator, and for advancing underwater exploration through submersible design and oceanographic projects. His work bridged aviation training, marine engineering, and commercial innovation, influencing institutions such as the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy, the Civil Aeronautics Authority, and firms including Sperry Corporation, United Aircraft Corporation, and General Electric. Link's inventions affected training at organizations like Pan American World Airways, Trans World Airlines, Royal Air Force, Imperial Japanese Navy (pre-WWII contacts), and research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Early life and education

Link was born in Huntington, Indiana, and raised in Binghamton, New York, the son of a carpenter and small-business owner who fostered mechanical curiosity that connected to local institutions such as the Binghamton University (then Triple Cities Colleges) and regional workshops. He studied electrical and mechanical principles through apprenticeships and correspondence with suppliers in Schenectady, New York, Rochester, and manufacturers like Westinghouse Electric Corporation and General Electric Company, rather than following a conventional university path such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Stanford University. Early influences included inventors and aviators associated with Wright brothers narratives and contemporaries at Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and Boeing.

Career and inventions

Link's career began with designing pneumatic systems and theatrical equipment for organizations such as the Binghamton Press and local theaters that led him to develop pneumatic devices used in motion simulation prototypes. He collaborated with firms like Singer Corporation for controls and with suppliers in Buffalo, New York and Syracuse. Link's inventive activity spanned electromechanical gyroscopes, pneumatic instruments, compressors patterned after Air Reduction Company technologies, and cockpit mockups influenced by manufacturers including Lockheed Corporation, Douglas Aircraft Company, and Northrop Corporation. He filed patents contemporaneous with inventors linked to Igor Sikorsky and Charles Lindbergh, and he liaised with testing facilities such as Langley Research Center and training units associated with the Army Air Corps.

Flight simulation and the Link Trainer

Link developed the Link Trainer, a mechanical flight simulator, combining pneumatic systems, attitude gyros, and electrical interlocks inspired by work at Sperry Gyroscope Company and instruments used in Curtiss and Wright cockpits. The trainer was adopted by the United States Army Air Corps and later the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, supplying training to crews from the Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, and United States Navy. Airlines including Pan American World Airways and Transcontinental & Western Air used Link's devices for instrument training; manufacturers such as Bendix Corporation and Honeywell later integrated avionics that evolved from Link Trainer concepts. Link's enterprise coordinated with regulatory bodies like the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. Famous aviators, instructors from Ottawa Air Training Scheme units, and test pilots from Edwards Air Force Base interacted with Link technology that influenced later flight simulators from companies such as CAE Inc. and FlightSafety International.

Contributions to underwater exploration and the Deep Sea Quest

Link extended his engineering to underwater exploration, designing manned submersibles and support systems influenced by pioneers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Projects included the Deep Sea Quest program and submersible designs that paralleled work by Jacques Cousteau, William Beebe, and engineers associated with Bethlehem Steel and Ingalls Shipbuilding. He collaborated with oceanographic researchers, naval laboratories like Naval Research Laboratory, and sponsors including foundations similar to Guggenheim Foundation for deep-sea research. Link’s submersibles operated from platforms linked to ports such as New York Harbor and research cruises that visited regions involving Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic studies, contributing to ocean engineering, marine geology investigations like those pursued by Marie Tharp, and biological sampling practices used by NOAA predecessors.

Business ventures and the Link Corporation

Link founded commercial entities that evolved into the Link Corporation, coordinating manufacturing, research, and training services analogous to conglomerates such as General Dynamics and Raytheon Technologies. His businesses supplied instrumentation to educational institutions including Cornell University, aviation academies like Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, and defense contractors such as Grumman Corporation and McDonnell Douglas. The corporation managed production lines in workshops with suppliers from industrial centers such as Springfield, Massachusetts and Windsor Locks, and it negotiated contracts with agencies including the United States Air Force and the Department of the Navy. Link's enterprises influenced corporate research models later followed by Rockwell International and Lockheed Martin through mergers and technology transfers.

Awards, honors, and legacy

Link received recognition from aviation and scientific bodies including awards akin to honors from the National Aeronautics Association, Aerospace Industries Association, and institutions paralleling the National Academy of Sciences; his legacy is preserved in museums such as the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and regional exhibits at the Roberson Museum and Science Center. Academic programs at institutions like Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of Michigan study his methods; preservation efforts involve archives housed alongside collections from makers such as Frank Whittle and Orville Wright. Link's influence persists in modern flight training standards administered by the Federal Aviation Administration and in submersible design principles visible in work by Triton Submarines and research fleets of Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. He is commemorated in industry histories, professional societies like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Royal Aeronautical Society, and by awards and named collections in museums and universities.

Category:American inventors Category:20th-century American businesspeople