Glidepath Restoration Progress: The Link Trainer Duo Encouraged by his friend Cyril Meadows, Peter Roberts showed up to volunteer at the Canadian Museum of Flight and asked what he could do. Well, it turns out Peter, a tool and die maker by trade, can and does contribute to numerous tasks around the Museum. The first thing he was pointed at was the 1942-vintage Link Trainer on display at the Museum, which was not working. As described in the accompanying article by Vic Bentley (please see Page 3), the original Link Trainer owed a lot of its technology to that used in a pipe organ, driven by air bellows. Peter tracked down the problem with the Museum Link to a Left: The Canadian Museum of Flight example of the WWII-era Link Trainer, newly restored to working condition. Right: Peter Roberts tackles the complex electronic controls of the GAT-1 instrument flight trainer. The quarterly newsletter of the Canadian Museum of Flight 50 Issue #109 Summer 2011 leaking vacuum hose. The Trainer nows works as intended with movement around the pitch, yaw and roll axes Peter and the team, which by then included Bob Gilles and Len Scholes amongst others, moved on to the 1960s era Singer GAT-1 trainer donated by Alpine Helicopters of Kelowna. That trainer has now been re-erected on its base pedestal. The complex electronics controlling that unit, with hundreds of components surface mounted on numerous circuit boards, are proving an interesting troubleshooting challenge. However, the guys are making good progress, with the unit now producing engine sounds and interesting swoops. Page 1 Please visit our website at www.canadianflight.org for much more information on Museum activities, events and collections.

The Canadian Museum of Flight Bringing British Columbia’s Aviation Past into the Future Honourary Patron The Honourable Steven L. Point, OBC Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Board of Directors Gord Wintrup Bruce Bakker President Vice President Daryl Carpenter Bruce Friesen Inder Matharu Treasurer Secretary Director CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT Matt Offer Vic Bentley Director Director Guy Miller Capt. Bill Thompson Director Lifetime Director Museum Staff Terry Brunner Douglas Tait Museum Coordinates Telephone Fax 604 532-0035 e-mail Website 604 532-0056 tbrunner@telus.net Address www.canadianflight.org Hangar #3 5333 216th Street Langley, BC V2Y 2N3 Museum Hours: daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Membership Benefits! •Partnerships! Members are entitled to visit, free of charge: Museum of Flight in Seattle West Coast Rail Museum in Squamish Military Education Centre in Chilliwack • Discounts in the Gift Shop increased from 10% to 15% Cover Photo Volunteers Welcome! The Canadian Museum of Flight is always looking for new volunteers. We are always in need of history and aviation enthusiasts of all kinds, for aircraft restoration, gift shop students to retirees, to join the team. If interested, please contact the Museum General Manager, Terry Brunner, at 604-532-0035. operations, facility maintenance, and many other tasks. No experience is necessary. We invite everyone, from young Members Day 2011 dawned with thick fog blanketing Langley Airport. Vic Bentley captured this lovely atmospheric shot of three Museum aircraft marshalled on the apron and pilot Bill Findlay preparing the Fleet Finch for its day’s duty. The Glidepath Newsletter is published quarterly by the Canadan Museum of Flight; Editor Bruce Friesen. Contributions in the form of articles, news items, letters and photos are always welcome, as are comments and suggestions, although no payments are made for manuscripts submitted for publication in the Newsletter. Page 2

The Link Trainer… … The Development of Instrument Flight Trainers by Vic Bentley History Why do we need devices to teach pilots how to fly in bad weather? For hundreds of years the cavalry galloping across the plains, or mariners in sailing ships never needed such things- why do we need them now? When walking along a trail in a forest even in the dark of night we know which way is up by our inner-ear balance mechanism and the sensation of gravity. When a pilot is flying in good weather the horizon shows where ‘up’ is. However, when flying in poor visibility- rain, fog, snow, darkness – the inner ear can become confused. If the plane starts to turn gently the pilot may notice that the compass is turning and the airspeed is increasing and will apply corrections. But without visual reference to “up” the corrections may worsen the situation, leading to a spiral dive with tragic consequences. Instruments were developed in the late 1920s that mimicked the horizon-known as the artificial horizon – regardless of the attitude of the aircraft. Thus a pilot could fly in adverse weather and still have a picture of the aircraft relative to the horizon. Aviation technical pioneers such as Elmer Sperry. combined with the determination of James Doolittle, perfected the art of “blind flying as flying by reference to instruments was then known. Training Devices However, aircraft are no use unless there are trained pilots to use them. This is where the Link Trainer filled the void. In the late 1920s Edwin Link learned to fly while working for his father who manufactured organs and pianos. Because of the economic depression at that time, flying lessons became too costly for him. Link got the idea to shorten the expensive flying lessons by learning rudimentary piloting skills Thus the Link Trainer holds a significant place in aviation using a ground aviation trainer. In 1928, Link left his father’s organ building business to begin work on a ‘pilot trainer.” Drawing from his expertise in air driven pipe organs, Link Page 3 built the first flight simulator. Mounted on a pedestal, the trainer used a motor and suction through fabric bellows to cause motion in pitch and roll, and to simulate dive and climb as the student ‘flew it. In the beginning the flying community took very little interest in Link’s trainer. Most of his first sales were to amusement parks. Initially the Trainer was meant for instruction of visual flight. However, in 1934, after a series of tragic accidents while flying the airmail, the Army Air Corps bought six Link Trainers to assist in training pilots to fly at night and in bad weather, relying on instruments. Then, with the start of World War II, the need for pilots with training in instrument flight mushroomed. By the end of the war, Link had delivered over 7000 Link Trainers to the U.S. military alone, and to more than 35 other countries. An example of an early Link Trainer, with the door open and the hood raised. history. It was the first true flight simulator, and provided safe training to hundreds of thousands of student pilots during the 1930s and 40s. Operation of the Link Trainer The Link Trainer is a simple form of analogue computer. fitted with a full set of instruments to guide the pupil on an imaginary flight. The miniature aeroplane pivots on a universal joint mounted on an octagonal turntable, which in turn is free to rotate in azimuth on a square base. Between the fuselage and the turntable are four supporting bellows, which are inflated or deflated by a vacuum turbine. Valves operate as the pupil moves the control column, recreating all too realistically most of the sensations and feel of flying. It is able to rotate through for a magnetic compass to be installed, while the various other instruments are operated either mechanically or Link Trainer construction, with hints of its origins in the 360 degrees, which allows crafting of wooden air boxes and frames for pipe organs. pneumatically. The simulated course is automatically recorded and traced by the three-wheeled course plotter (the self-propelled and

Further development After WW2, Link developed electronic training devices for the new generation of high-performance aircraft, and in the 1960s, developed simulators for the space program, including the Apollo mission for moon landing. Today multi-million dollar flight simulators are used for training crews for complex aircraft- airliners, transports and fighters. These trainers have sophisticated motion systems and visual displays that create such an authentic training environment that most pilots who use this training system do their first flight in a new type of aircraft with a load of passengers. We have come a long way since the days of the original Link Trainer! A typical WWII-era Link Trainer installation, in a pretty rustic building at Freeman Army Airfield, Seymour, Indiana. steerable ‘crab’) across a map on the instructor’s desk. By relating the position of the student’s aircraft to marks on the chart, the instructor is able to manually control the transmission of simulated radio beacon signals to the Trainer. A cross-country flight of up to 200 miles is possible, during which the instructor confronts the pupil with most of the difficulties that could occur during a genuine flight. The instructor can create both calm and rough-air flying conditions. The Trainer will also “stall” when recorded airspoed and attitude fall outside pre-determined limits. It will then go into a very realistic spin, with the instruments performing normally for such conditions. Flight Training The Harvard Mark 4 was developed as an instrument trainer. After initial training in the Link, pilots would continue their training in the Harvard, the rear cockpit fitted with a canvas hood that masked the outside world. The pilot would plan a trip, then board the aircraft and fly on instruments from the rear seat without seeing the ground until completing an instrument approach at the destination airport. The front seat pilot acted as the safety pilot. GAT-1 These trainers, the last generation of mechanical flight simulators, consist of a fibreglass cab mounted on a heavy base bearing the name ‘Singer’ just like the sewing machine. The Singer Corp. bought the design from the company of its inventor, Edwin Link, in the 1950s. SINGER The Singer General Aviation Trainer (GAT-1) on display at the Canadian Museum of Flight, every inch the 1960’s design. The gyroscope-controlled, six-degrees-of-freedom mochanical base of the GAT-1 is capable of throwing the tiny fibreglass cab of the GAT-1 through a 360-degren turn at any pitch up to 10 degrees at a touch of the controls. The Canadian Connection Before and during WW2, Britain had restrictions on buying war goods from non-Commonwealth countries. Link realized that business would increase if he had a manufacturing facility in Canada. He owned an island east of Gananoque. Ontario, and frequently flew from Binghamton, NY, to his cottage in his amphibious plane. As he always checked in with Customs and Immigration at Gananoque, he got to know the collector of Customs, Ken Mullins. One day he asked Mullins if he knew of a location where he could manufacture Link Trainers, and whom he could recommend as its manager. Mullins suggested Keith Taylor and in 1938, the first Canadian Link Trainer was completed. Ultimately, more than 5,000 Link Trainers were built in Gananoque, and with over 200 employees it was one of the town’s most important businesses. The Link Trainer cockpit: student pilots were expected to go “under the hood” and fly by instruments while the machine did its best to disorient them. Page 4

The Canadian Museum of Flight Members Day 2011… Flying, Dining and Recognition Flying: At top left, in the calm of the early morning, the Tiger Moth awaits her first passenger. A selection of smiles from 29 flights on the day. Counter-clockwise from bottom left: Andrew Stilling flew with Vic Bentley in the Harvard; The Ringland family- Caitlin, Tom and Ruth-flew the Waco Cabin, Dave Beales riding shotgun (that being Caitlin’s version!); George Price followed Bill Findlay around in the Finch; Tom Parsons joined George Serviss in the Moth;⚫ Ralph Rowe and George Kirbyson gave the Harvard a workout; Bill Findlay and the Finch won the biggest smile award from Mike’s mother Elaine Luedey; ⚫ Chris Hunt is addicted for life after a flight with George Serviss in the Moth, Dave Beales treated Claudine and Robert Bourgaize to a romantic ride in the Cabin. C-GMFT MUSEUM of FLIGHT BOY OUR MEMBERS ARE STARS Recognition: “Our Members Are Stars” was the theme for Members Day 2011. Some of the Stars recognized for their contributions during 2011 were, clockwise from top right: Gil Fanslau, with his well-deserved Volunteer of the Year award; ⚫ five pilots Vic Bentley, Bill Findlay, George Serviss, George Kirbyson and Gil Fanslau; B. J. McMillan and his Above and Beyond roof maintenance plaque; ⚫ Barn Team leaders Colin McDonald and Matt Offer. Top left, Terry Brunner launches into another improbable story. GOC. RIP.

Personalities at Our Museum – Stan Walter, Photographs and Memories An Interview by Carla Deminchuk (The sixth of an ongoing series, profiling some of the personalities that make our Museum tick.) Glidepath: Stan, I’ve been wanting to ask you this for the longest time: We often see you scrutinizing photographs on one of the library computers. What are you doing? Stan Walter: I am scanning most of the Museum’s hard copies of aircraft images and transferring them to disc so they can be readily accessed online. I have been doing this for two-and-a-half years, and there is probably another year’s work. Glidepath: How did you get involved in this? Stan Walter: I was introduced to the Museum by Bob Smith, another member. I wanted to volunteer and when I told Terry (Brunner) a bit about my background, he said gee, I think I have a job for you. Glidepath: Where did these photos come from? Stan Walter: There are hundreds of photos in the Museum albums of different aircraft. I don’t know where most of them came from. Glidepath: Aside from the improved accessibility to this reference source, how will it ultimately benefit the Museum? Stan Walter: I think they could Stan Walter at his post, currating aviation photos from the Museum collection. be turned into a profit. Someone may want a particular photo; they might be willing to pay for it. If you were to get a picture from the Provincial Archives in Victoria, they would charge you twenty or thirty dollars. do believe if we get this project into the proper shape, we could make some money on it. Fund raising is always a challenge for the Museum, as you know. Glidepath: Do any of these photographs have any kind of caption or narrative? Stan Walter: No. Most are static displays. A few are flying. We sometimes see photographs of people; unfortunately, they are not identified. Sometimes these people become historically important. Glidepath: If every picture tells a story, is there one that tells a particularly good one? Stan Walter: I did find some pictures of Sir Charles Kingford Smith with his aircraft. Glidepath: You mean Kingford Smith or “Smithy,” the great Australian aviator? Glidepath: Can you tell us about your aviation background? Stan Walter: In 1957 I was sponsored for flying training in the RCAF by the Auxillary. I received my wings in the regular air force and had an option of staying in the regular force or going back into the auxillary. I chose the auxillary. There were two squadrons; the City of Vancouver Squadron and the City of New Westminster 443 Squadron. I joined 443 Squadron because 1 lived in New Westminster. Glidepath : What airplanes did you fly? Stan Walter: I flew the de Havilland Chipmunk and the Harvard. Then I went into the T-33 and the C-45 Expeditor. Glidepath: The same aircraft that the Museum has on static display? Stan Walter: Yes. Glidepath: After your service in the RCAF, did you continue to fly as a private pilot? Stan Walter: Yes. We owned a Beechcraft Bonanza and a Cessna 337. Glidepath: Isn’t the Bonanza colloquially known as “the doctor killer” because it is a lot of airplane for a novice pilot? Stan Walter: Yeah, it is. If you haven’t flown it before and I had few hours, one might find it a bit overwhelming. Glidepath: In the preliminary questionnaire I sent you, you indicated you have also worked as a newspaper photographer? Stan Walter: I worked for a company on a contractual basis with the Vancouver Sun. I also worked for the Columbian. assignment? Glidepath: What was your most memorable photo Stan Walter: The Hope Slide. I took the aerial photographs. It was very dramatic because you could see how far the slide went up the opposite mountain. Glidepath: Besides the flying and photography, you also developed a passion for sailing. What possessed you to go from the sky to the darkroom and then to the sea? Stan Walter: A friend introduced me to sailing. It was idyllic. You’d be amazed at how many aviators go into sailing Stan Walter: Yes. The first one to fly across the Pacific, I believe. Continued on Page 7 … Page 6

Tailwinds (continued from Page 8) British Columbia provided a rigorous test for the work of the Museum “Building and Grounds” team including B. J. McMillan, Jeff Jefferies, Gordon Varney and Cyril Meadows. To their credit, almost everything stayed where it belonged except for a few signs, and the DC-9 nose which had been propped Caitlin Perrault removing pop rivets from a window frame of the DC-3. John Jouan attacks the DC-3 interior, framed by the classic pre-war American Airlines starboard-side entry door. Winds and Noses A couple of days of exceptionally high winds around the Lower Mainland of John Jouan poses with the errant, rolling nose. TWA Dave Beales hard at work welding a new support for the DC-9 nose. Stan Walter… continued from Page 6 and do quite well because they understand the navigation and physics. My wife Emily and I made a trans-Atlantic crossing. We are both interested in history so that is why we decided to sail to Europe. Glidepath: That’s quite the pond. How long did the crossing take? Stan Walter: Eighteen days to the Azores, then another eight days to Portugal on a 42 footer. Glidepath: Having survived a 26-day sailing expedition with your wife without one being thrown overboard by the other, Page 7 can you offer any advice to others who may be so inclined? Stan Walter: Emily may have thought of throwing me up behind the Gift Shop. A bit of welding ingenuity by Dave Beales and muscle provided by Dave, Mike Luedey, John Jouan, Bill Butler and others, and all was back in order. Barn Progress The Barn Team, led by Colin McDonald and Matt Offer ably supported by many hands including forklift operator, Bruce Bakker, continues to make progress compacting the Museum’s collection of artifacts into smaller and smaller volumes. Huge benefits continue to flow from this work, in reduced storage costs and improved organization and accessibility of materials. Particularly neat this fall was the realization the Norseman would indeed fit in a shipping container, if we could get our hands on what is known as a super-size container; it did, with about two inches to spare across the landing gear legs. Bruce Bakker eases the Norseman fuselage into its new shipping- container home. overboard, but she needed a navigator. That was my ace in the hole. Glidepath: When the photo project is completed, what next? Stan Walter: Colin McDonald tells me there are many interview tapes of different people. We should have them on a better format instead of the cassettes they are on now. They are audio, so we would take them off the hard drive, listen to them, and transfer to DVD. Glidepath: You’re proof that they can’t keep a good man down. Thank-you for this interesting snapshot of your life and your continuing work. Stan Walter: You’re most welcome. I enjoy the museum. It’s a lot of fun.

“Tailwinds” – Bits ‘n Pieces From Around the Hangar By Carla Deminchuk, Bruce Friesen ******What a Pilot and Airplane Reunion This Would Be: Did you know the Beechcraft Expeditor on static display was one of the aircraft Bill Findlay flew in the RCAF? Wouldn’t it be great to get it off the static line and into the air someday with Bill back in the left seat? ******The CMF on Facebook: New member, Mike Luedey, has been doing some wonderful things with our facebook page. The museum also has a YouTube channel where viewers can ride along in museum aircraft. Buckle-up and check it out. *****Are You Still Licking Your Fingers From that Delectable Crabfest on Members’ Day? Big thanks to crab cookers Terry Brunner, Bruce Bakker and B.J. McMillan because it was about 120F in the boiling shed: their faces were as red as the cooked crabs! ******You May Be Getting Older Baby, but You’re Looking Better: Haven’t been the museum for awhile? Some things have been moved around, noteably our General Manager, and some paint, plaster, and elbow grease applied. (To the building, not the GM). Look for the full update in the next Glidepath. ******CMF Earlybirds on Breakfast Television: City TV recently filmed a segment at the hangar. If you missed the show, you can still see the ten- minute video clip. Go to the CMF website homepage and follow the link. *****CMF Rubs Elbows with Tinseltown: The Fraser Valley Event Planners’ Association recently held their first convention and trade show in Langley. The museum contributed some display props for the banquet gala which featured keynote speaker Cheryl Cecchetto, the producer of the Academy Awards’ Governor’s Ball. ******Beer Biscuits with Smoked Sausage Butter: The Tuesday volunteer gang recently enjoyed these. Take 3 cups all-purpose flour, 3 Tablespoons sugar or Splenda, 5 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and blend. Add 12 oz. of your favourite beer and stir. Fill 12 greased muffin cups and bake 20 mins. at 350F or until firm. For the sausage butter, finely chop your favourite smoked sausage, add to butter or margarine. *****Infamous Last Words: “The aeroplane is an invention of the devil and will never play any part in such serious business as the defence of the nation, my boy!” (Sir Sam Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defence to J.A.D. McCurdy, who approached the minister in August 1914 with the idea of starting an air service.) Oh boy, if he could see us now! Repair the Hangar Roof An Exceptional Appeal The hangar roof needs to be repaired. There are leaks! This summer a waterproof coating was applied. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop all the leaks. For example, there is a leak above the loft, the strapping is soaked, and is showing rot. Help is needed: ideas, material, equipment, experience, money. The hope is to fix the roof in the spring or sooner. All contributions will be most welcome. DC-3 Interior Restoration The Canadian Museum of Flight welcomes and treasures volunteers of all kinds. For an all too brief period this fall, the Museum benefited from the whirlwind of energy and enthusiasm named Caitlin Perrault. Cait said she “fell in love with the DC-3 while driving in to the Museum the first time, and turned her efforts to giving her some tender loving care. Soon enough she and her team had stripped out all the water damaged interior linings and flooring. The current plan is to recreate within the DC-3 a vignette of its final service as a workhorse hauling both men and materiel into northern British Columbia mining camps. Caitlin has, with regret, moved to Nanaimo but will be watching continued progress on the DC-3 with interest. Photo Caption Contest “Bill, did you check the weight and balance on this thing? Winning entry submitted by Carla Deminchuk For more information on Canadian Museum of Flight collections, displays and events, please visit our website at www.canadianflight.org Take a look at the section on aircraft engines at our Museum! Page 8