Here is a tinted postcard of the Link Trainer Building at Napier Field, Dothan, Alabama. Napier Field was built as a military base during World War II. The postcard description is ‘ “Learning to fly by not flying” these Cadets and their Instructors are busily engaged in piloting Link Trainers to a successful landing by the use of instruments only.’ It was published by Dothan Cigar & Candy Company.
Notice the light horizontal streaks on the floor? Likely a photo touch-up covering the large cables between the trainer and the instructor’s console.
Link Trainer post card published during WWII.Back of Link Trainer post card.
The rudder valve consists of two mating sections. Holes and ports distribute vacuum to the turning motor as a function of the position of the two sections relative to each other. .
We removed our Esp’s rudder valve, cleaned and lubricated it. See the “Rudder Valve” section under “Restoration Hints” for details. What a difference. The valve sections were gummy, and now easily move smoothly.
We visited the D. C. Ramey Piano Company in Marysville, Ohio last week. What a fun time. They are preserving a musical experience of a bygone era. David Ramey, the owner, took us on a tour of his shop and their museum. His father, Dave Sr., started the company in the 1950’s. David and his crew carry on and improve the fine tradition. Everything they restore is done to perfection. We saw player pianos, nickelodeons, automated bands, and orchestras. Each one looked like it came off a new showroom floor, worked to perfection, and sounded awesome. The xylophones’ keys were rosewood, and had a wonderful unique sound. The D. C. Ramey Piano Company even manufactures their own automated instruments. They have made about 30 of their famous ‘Banjo-Orchestras’; a reproduction of an automated ol’ time band where they started with little more than a frame of only two surviving originals.
Some of the automated instruments used a continuous paper roll stuffed into a compartment. Seemed impossible; but it worked.
David even has a couple automated instruments from the Link Piano and Organ Company.
Link Piano and Organ Company automated instrument on the left.
We learned a lot about pneumatics, and found out we were doing some things wrong. We’ll improve our techniques.
When we connected up the ANT-18’s instructor’s air speed indicator, the cockpit air speed indicator stopped working. We traced the problem to the instructor’s instrument having a stuck pointer. The Telegon instruments are all similar. The only difference between a transmitter and an instrument (i.e. receiver) is that the angular position of the Telegon motor is mechanically driven by the transmitter’s internal mechanism, but the instruments’ Telegon motors are free to rotate and align to the transmitter’s sine and cosine fields. Since our instructor’s station pointer is frozen, it is acting like a second Telegon transmitter locked into its current position. The two “transmitters” fight each other and the cockpit instrument stops working.
We pulled the instructor’s air speed instrument; it is up next for repair.
Disassembled Kollsman altimeter.
Meanwhile, back to our first altimeter which did not work. We disassembled it down to the Telegon motor. When we first disassembled the unit, it took noticeable force to move the instrument pointer. After turning the pointer by hand a few turns, it freed up the shaft, and now spins easily. We cleaned up the parts, slip rings, contacts, etc., and oiled the pin bearings with clock oil. We tested the Telegon motor with our instrument tester, and the motor now works just fine. We are hoping to reassemble and retest the repaired instrument soon. Fingers crossed!
RPM and Air Speed are first working instruments in ANT-18.
Last week we got our first two cockpit instruments to work and roughly calibrated in the ANT-18. After restoring the two regulator bellows and replacing a good bit of bad vacuum hose, our cockpit engine RPM and air speed instruments started to work. Yea! Both instruments respond to throttle, and the air speed decreases in a climb. When we connect up the instructor’s air speed instrument, the cockpit air speed instrument unfortunately stops working – so we’ve got some troubleshooting to do.
