America 250 Candidate: Flight Simulator
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AUTOMATION HISTORY · AMERICA 250 · REPLACEMENT CANDIDATE
Link Flight Simulator
American milestone: late 1920s–1930s · Edwin A. Link · Binghamton, New York
Status: Replacement candidate. Final number pending chronology audit.
Why it belongs in America 250
American inventor Edwin Link developed a practical electromechanical flight trainer that reproduced aircraft-control responses on the ground. The Link Trainer became widely used for instrument-flight and military pilot training.
Connection to automation
The simulator used controlled electromechanical motion and instruments to reproduce a dynamic system safely, anticipating modern digital twins, operator simulators and automated training systems.