5 ms·

I gave my friend an hour in the link trainer for his retirement. He tried to take off, enter the approach, and land. 45 minutes later he failed. When he stepped

by daly 4y ago

I gave my friend an hour in the link trainer for his retirement. He tried to take off, enter the approach, and land. 45 minutes later he failed. When he stepped out of the trainer he had sweat so much he looked like he took a shower. I got a turn after him. Just a simple task, take off, enter the approach, and "follow the needles" back to the runway. I managed to get it down on the grass parallel to the runway. I also looked like I had taken a shower. The wild part is that (a) it feels REAL and (b) they added weather while I was flying. I want one of these at home.

deelowe 4y ago
Tom said all of the gauges are non-functional. That would seem impossible. Not sure what the point is without them except as a mechanical curiosity.
- NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
  Yes, it's sadly quite pointless without.
- lambda 4y ago
  There's more than one surviving Link Trainer in the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_Trainer#Surviving_trainers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_Trainer#Surviving_trainer... The gauges on that particular one have been removed; on others, they may have been replaced, or the radioactive paint stripped off, or the dose deemed low enough to not be worth worrying about.
- drewzero1 4y ago
  At another point, one of the others mentioned that the original gauges had to be removed because of radium in the dials. It's a bit sad they couldn't have been replaced with non-radioactive replicas.
pengaru 4y ago
Does the blue box have any ventilation? The video makes it look like a hot box.
capableweb 4y ago
How do you "follow the needles" when the machine has no screens and I guess all you have is communication is with a person outside the machine who tells you where you are? Normally, you'd have a visual on the runway when you land, so I can understand its much more difficult when you're sitting in a dark box with someone just instructing you what to do. Flying by instrument is really really hard, especially if you have zero training. > they added weather while I was flying This I don't understand, like they spray water on you when you're in the cockpit or how was this implemented?
- monkeywork 4y ago
  Adding weather is likely extra wind and reduced "visual" to the ground
  - capableweb 4y ago
    > reduced "visual" to the ground But there is no "visual" in the first place in the "Link Trainer". You mean that the gauges start showing false/modified values than what they really should? Or that the outside instructor fuddles with the instructions they give you?
    - jhugo 4y ago
      The wind slows or speeds up the aircraft, requiring power adjustments, and changes its ground track, requiring course adjustments. In weather, the wind may be varying as you fly, requiring constant adjustments. When flying by instruments you have to do those adjustments based on what you see on the instruments as there is no outside reference.
bergenty 4y ago
The sweat is because it’s an enclosed box with no ventilation right? Why else would you be sweating, you’re not physically strained too much in it.
- chiph 4y ago
  Nerves & stress. I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in a full-motion T-38[0] trainer while in the Air Force (a roommate was there TDY making some repairs and needed a hand testing them). The motion makes you feel like you're really in a plane. I made three approaches - the most "successful" of them had me run off the runway into the grass and slide sideways to a stop (landing a jet is no joke). While the Link Trainer is obviously primitive compared to the one I was in, the sensations are just as real, as is the stress of trying your hardest not to crash. While I will give the Navy grief over nearly everything :) I have the utmost respect for carrier pilots. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Hs4ll93Ms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Hs4ll93Ms
- 2143 4y ago
  I've sweated in a cold AC room. Btw, sweating when it's cold somehow feels much worse.
graton 4y ago
Your comment made me think of this story: https://interestingengineering.com/a-pensioner-accidentally-ejected-himself-from-a-fighter-jet-mid-flight https://interestingengineering.com/a-pensioner-accidentally-... A 64-year-old French pensioner was recently peer pressured into flying in a fighter jet to celebrate his retirement. The man was so nervous he reached out during the flight and accidentally ejected himself mid-flight, a report from IFL Science reveals. ...

by daly 4y ago

deelowe 4y ago

Tom said all of the gauges are non-functional. That would seem impossible. Not sure what the point is without them except as a mechanical curiosity.

NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
Yes, it's sadly quite pointless without.
lambda 4y ago
There's more than one surviving Link Trainer in the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_Trainer#Surviving_trainers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_Trainer#Surviving_trainer... The gauges on that particular one have been removed; on others, they may have been replaced, or the radioactive paint stripped off, or the dose deemed low enough to not be worth worrying about.
drewzero1 4y ago
At another point, one of the others mentioned that the original gauges had to be removed because of radium in the dials. It's a bit sad they couldn't have been replaced with non-radioactive replicas.

pengaru 4y ago

Does the blue box have any ventilation? The video makes it look like a hot box.

capableweb 4y ago

How do you "follow the needles" when the machine has no screens and I guess all you have is communication is with a person outside the machine who tells you where you are? Normally, you'd have a visual on the runway when you land, so I can understand its much more difficult when you're sitting in a dark box with someone just instructing you what to do. Flying by instrument is really really hard, especially if you have zero training. > they added weather while I was flying This I don't understand, like they spray water on you when you're in the cockpit or how was this implemented?

monkeywork 4y ago
Adding weather is likely extra wind and reduced "visual" to the ground
- capableweb 4y ago
  > reduced "visual" to the ground But there is no "visual" in the first place in the "Link Trainer". You mean that the gauges start showing false/modified values than what they really should? Or that the outside instructor fuddles with the instructions they give you?
  - jhugo 4y ago
    The wind slows or speeds up the aircraft, requiring power adjustments, and changes its ground track, requiring course adjustments. In weather, the wind may be varying as you fly, requiring constant adjustments. When flying by instruments you have to do those adjustments based on what you see on the instruments as there is no outside reference.

bergenty 4y ago

The sweat is because it’s an enclosed box with no ventilation right? Why else would you be sweating, you’re not physically strained too much in it.

chiph 4y ago
Nerves & stress. I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in a full-motion T-38[0] trainer while in the Air Force (a roommate was there TDY making some repairs and needed a hand testing them). The motion makes you feel like you're really in a plane. I made three approaches - the most "successful" of them had me run off the runway into the grass and slide sideways to a stop (landing a jet is no joke). While the Link Trainer is obviously primitive compared to the one I was in, the sensations are just as real, as is the stress of trying your hardest not to crash. While I will give the Navy grief over nearly everything :) I have the utmost respect for carrier pilots. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Hs4ll93Ms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Hs4ll93Ms
2143 4y ago
I've sweated in a cold AC room. Btw, sweating when it's cold somehow feels much worse.

graton 4y ago

Your comment made me think of this story: https://interestingengineering.com/a-pensioner-accidentally-ejected-himself-from-a-fighter-jet-mid-flight https://interestingengineering.com/a-pensioner-accidentally-... A 64-year-old French pensioner was recently peer pressured into flying in a fighter jet to celebrate his retirement. The man was so nervous he reached out during the flight and accidentally ejected himself mid-flight, a report from IFL Science reveals. ...