Featured item of the month
May 2025 item of the month
On this page we will feature a detailed story on one of our display items. The page will be updated monthly.
This month we look at the Link Trainer and what it meant to both military and civil aviation.
In the early days of aviation, flight was often restricted to fine weather with clear visibility. Pilots navigated by their view of the surrounding terrain with perhaps a road map to assist in navigation.
If a pilot ended up flying in cloud, there was no visual reference to a horizon so a pilot would have no real knowledge of whether the aircraft was gaining or losing altitude nor whether it might have been turning, except for a magnetic compass indication.
The link trainer was developed to incorporate a number of instruments which gave an indication of the aircraft’s behaviour.
Aircraft later began to be fitted with radio receivers which were able to detect the direction from which a radio signal was being sent. The radios were linked to a dial which indicated the direction to the source. With signals from two transmitters, a pilot could determine their position using triangulation.
The link trainer on display at the Evans Head Museum remains the property of the Royal Australian Air Force and is on loan to the museum.
