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Edwin Albert Link

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Edwin Albert Link
Edwin A. Link
BornJuly 26, 1904
Huntington, Indiana
DiedSeptember 7, 1981(1981-09-07)(aged 77)
Binghamton, New York
NationalityAmerican
EducationBinghamton Central High School
OccupationIndustrialist/entrepreneur
Known forInventor offlight simulator;underwater archeologist;ocean engineer
SpouseMarion Clayton Link
ChildrenWilliam Martin Link, Edwin Clayton Link
Parent(s)Edwin A. Link, Sr., Katherine Martin Link

Edwin Albert Link(July 26, 1904 – September 7, 1981)[1]was an American inventor, entrepreneur and pioneer inaviation,underwater archaeology,andsubmersibles.He invented theflight simulator,which was called the "Blue Box" or "Link Trainer".It was commercialized in 1929, starting a now multibillion-dollar industry.[2][3]In total, he obtained more than 27 patents foraeronautics,navigationandoceanographicequipment.[4]

Early life

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Edwin Link was born inHuntington, Indiana,in 1904, the son of Edwin A. Link, Sr., and Katherine (Martin) Link. In 1910, he moved with his family toBinghamton, New York.[1][2][5]

Aviation

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Aviator

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He took his first flying lesson in 1920.[6]In 1927, he obtained the firstCessnaairplane ever delivered and eked out a living bybarnstorming,charter flying and giving lessons.[6]

As a young man, Edwin Link used apparatus from his father's automatic piano and organ factory (of theLink Piano and Organ Company) to produce an advertising airplane. A punched roll and pneumatic system from aplayer pianocontrolled sequential lights on the lower surfaces of the wings to spell out messages like "ENDICOTT-JOHNSON SHOES".To attract more attention, he added a set of small but loud organ pipes, also controlled by the roll.

Flight simulator

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Link Trainer at the Western Canada Aviation Museum

In the 1920s, he developed theLink Trainer,"a fuselage-like device with a cockpit and controls that produced the motions and sensations of flying."[6][7]

Much of the pneumatic system was adapted directly from technology used in the organ factory;[8]and, in the 1970s, Link used parts scavenged from an inoperative trainer to help rebuild a Link pipe organ.

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He formed theLink Aeronautical Corporationin 1929 to manufacture the trainers.[6]His few early customers wereamusement parks,not flight training schools; the early models served as amusement rides.[6]Finally, in 1934, theUnited States Army Air Corpsbought six.[6]DuringWorld War II,more than half a million airmen were taught using the Link Trainer.[9]In 2000 the Link Trainer was placed on theList of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks.

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Together with his wife Marion Clayton Link, whom he had married in 1931, Edwin Link managed the very successful Link Aviation, Inc.[2][5]He contributed a great deal to the Binghamton, New York area, where he set up a production facility that at one time employed thousands of workers. Although the company later passed through different ownership, its legacy can be traced to the currentL3Harrisdivision known as Link Training and Simulation, now headquartered inArlington, Texas(though it still maintains some operations in Binghamton).[10]

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In 1953, Edwin and Marion Link established The Link Foundation. The foundation continues to provide grants and fellowships inaeronautics,simulation and training, ocean engineering, energy, and organizations of interest to the Links.[3][4]

Undersea interests

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Man-in-Sea project

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After Link sold his company toGeneral Precisionin 1954, he turned his attention to underwater archaeology and research.[2]Link worked at developing equipment for deeper, longer lasting and more securediving.To this end he designed several submersibledecompression chambers.[1][2][3]On August 28, 1962, atVillefranche-sur-Meron theMediterranean Sea,Link inaugurated his "Man in Sea" project by spending eight hours at a depth of 60 feet (18 m) in his submersible decompression chamber (SDC), becoming the first diver to be completelysaturatedwith a mixture of oxygen and helium (heliox) while breathing underwater.[2][11][12][13][14]This dive served as a test run for a dive the following month byRobert Sténuit,who spent over 24 hours in the SDC at a depth of 200 feet (61 m) and thus became the world's firstaquanaut.[2][11][12][13][14]In June–July 1964, Link conducted his second Man in Sea experiment in theBerry Islands(a chain in theBahamas) with Sténuit andJon Lindbergh,one of the sons ofCharles Lindbergh.Sténuit and Lindbergh stayed in Link's SPIDhabitat(Submersible, Portable, Inflatable Dwelling) for 49 hours underwater at a depth of 432 feet (132 m), breathing a helium-oxygen mixture.[2][12][13][15][16][17]Dr.Joseph B. MacInnisparticipated in this dive as alife supportspecialist.[12][13][16][17]

Submersibles

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In March 1967, Link launchedDeep Diver,the first smallsubmersibledesigned for lockout diving, allowing divers to leave and enter the craft while underwater.[2][13]Deep Divercarried out many scientific missions in 1967 and 1968, including a 430-foot (130 m) lockout dive in 1967 (at the same location as the 1964 Sténuit-Lindbergh dive) and a 700-foot (210 m) lockout dive nearGreat Stirrup Cayin 1968. Dr. MacInnis participated in both of these dives as an observer inDeep Diver's forward chamber.[13][18][19]

Later in 1968, afterDeep Diverhad been requisitioned by theUnited States Navyto help search for the lostsubmarineUSSScorpion,theBureau of Shipsdetermined thatDeep Diverwas unsafe for use at great depths or in extremely cold temperatures because of the substitution of the wrong kind of steel, which became brittle in cold water, in some parts of the sub.[13]Link proceeded to design a new lockout sub with a distinctive acrylic bubble as the forward pilot/observer compartment. In January 1971 the new sub was launched and commissioned to theSmithsonian Institution.It was named theJohnson Sea Linkafter its donors, Link and his friendJohn Seward Johnson I.[2][13]

Death of son

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Main article:Johnson Sea Link accident

In June 1973, Link's 31-year-old son, Edwin Clayton Link, and another diver, 51-year-old Albert D. Stover, died during a scheduled dive offKey West.They sufferedcarbon dioxide poisoningwhen theJohnson Sea Linkbecame trapped in debris around aNavydestroyer, theFred T. Berry,which had been sunk to create anartificial reef.The submersible's other two occupants survived.[2][20][21][22]Over the next two years, Edwin Link designed an unmanned Cabled Observation and Rescue Device (CORD) that could free a trapped submersible.[2]

Death

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Edwin Link died in his sleep on September 7, 1981, in Binghamton, New York,[1]where he had been undergoing treatment forcancer.[2]

Honors

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Link Hall, Syracuse University

Link was awarded theHoward N. Potts Medal[3]in 1945 for developing training devices for aviators, and theRoyal Aeronautical SocietyWakefield Gold Medal in 1947.[23]He received an honorary degree fromSyracuse Universityin 1966[24]andBinghamton Universityin 1981.[25]In 1976, he was inducted into theNational Aviation Hall of Fame.[6]

In 1992, Link was inducted into theInternational Air & Space Hall of Fameat theSan Diego Air & Space Museum.[26]

Link donated $6 million dollars to build the engineering building on the campus ofSyracuse University.TheEdwin A. Link Hall of Engineeringwas dedicated in presence of Link and his family on October 16, 1970.[24][27][28][29]It currently houses offices, classrooms and laboratories of theSyracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science.

From the early 1980s to the 1990s, what is nowGreater Binghamton Airportwas named Edwin A. Link Field-Broome County Airport his honor,.[3]The field is still named after Link, and there is an original "Blue Box" on display in the terminal.

The Link Building at Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne, FL) is named for Edwin A. Link inventor of the Link Trainer and co-founder of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. A display of an original Link Trainer can be seen in the College of Aeronautics’ Skurla Hall, a two-minute walk from the Link Building.

References

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  1. ^abcd"Edwin Albert Link - A Chronological Biography".Binghamton University Libraries.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-17.Retrieved2011-12-29.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmClark, Martha; Eichelberger, Jeanne."Edwin A. Link 1904-1981".Binghamton University Libraries. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-17.Retrieved2012-06-06.
  3. ^abcde"A Biographical Sketch OF Edwin A. Link".Florida Tech Evans Library.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-02.Retrieved2011-08-26.
  4. ^ab"Link Foundation Information".Link Foundation. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-27.Retrieved2011-08-26.
  5. ^ab"Binghamton Univ. Libraries: Edwin A. Link".Binghamton University Libraries. 2011-02-15. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-19.Retrieved2011-08-26.
  6. ^abcdefg"Edwin Link: Innovator/Inventor/Industrialist".National Aviation Hall of Fame.RetrievedAugust 27,2012.
  7. ^US patent no.1825462A, (held by Edwin A. Link Jr.), dated 29 September 1931, for a "Combination training device for student aviators and entertainment apparatus".
  8. ^"Link Trainer Restoration".starksravings.com.Retrieved2011-08-31.
  9. ^Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 2 (1984).National Academy of Engineering.1984. p. 174.ISBN0-309-03482-5.RetrievedAugust 27,2012.
  10. ^"History - L-3 Link Simulation & Training".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-06-06.Retrieved2016-09-09.
  11. ^abLord Kilbracken(May 1963). "The Long, Deep Dive".National Geographic.123(5).Washington, D.C.:National Geographic Society:718–731.
  12. ^abcdSténuit, Robert(1966).The Deepest Days.Trans. Morris Kemp.New York:Coward-McCann.LCCN66-10428.
  13. ^abcdefghLink, Marion Clayton (1973).Windows in the Sea.Washington, D.C.:Smithsonian Institution Press.ISBN0-87474-130-0.LCCN72-93801.
  14. ^abEcott, Tim (2001).Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World.New York:Atlantic Monthly Press.pp.249–250.ISBN0-87113-794-1.LCCN2001018840.
  15. ^Link, Edwin A. (April 1965). "Outpost Under the Ocean".National Geographic.127(4). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society: 530–533.
  16. ^abSténuit, Robert (April 1965). "The Deepest Days".National Geographic.127(4). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society: 534–547.
  17. ^abMacInnis, Joe(1975).Underwater Man.New York:Dodd, Mead & Company.pp. 53–68.ISBN0-396-07142-2.LCCN75-680.
  18. ^MacLeish, Kenneth (January 1968). "A Taxi for the Deep Frontier: Project Man-in-Sea Goes Mobile".National Geographic.133(1). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society: 138–150.
  19. ^MacInnis, pp. 91-103.
  20. ^"Science: Tragedy Under the Sea".Time.1973-07-02. Archived fromthe originalon December 14, 2008.Retrieved2011-08-26.
  21. ^Alexiou, Arthur E. (1974). "Ocean".The World Book Year Book 1974.Chicago:Field Enterprises Educational Corporation.p.426.ISBN0-7166-0474-4.LCCN62-4818.
  22. ^Ellis, Richard (1998).Deep Atlantic: Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss.New York: The Lyons Press. pp. 76–77.ISBN1-55821-663-4.
  23. ^"R.Ae.S. Medals and Prizes".Flight.51(2005): 500. 29 May 1947.Retrieved30 August2013.
  24. ^"Honorary Degree Recipients".Binghamton University, State University of New York. 9 April 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 19 March 2013.Retrieved23 May2012.
  25. ^Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor.These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame.Donning Co. Publishers, 2006.ISBN978-1-57864-397-4.
  26. ^"Building Named for Inventor".Press and Sun-Bulletin.Binghamton, New York. 16 October 1970. p. 3.Retrieved2 April2021– viaNewspapers.comOpen access icon.
  27. ^"Link Hall".answers.syr.edu.Retrieved28 December2020.
  28. ^Lawrence, Al (17 October 1970)."$5.7 Million Engineering Hall Dedicated at SU".The Post-Standard.Syracuse, New York. p. 3.Retrieved2 April2021– viaNewspapers.comOpen access icon.

Bibliography

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