Emulating the “pucker factor”: Faith, fidelity and flight simulation in Australia, 1936–58

Abstract

In the two decades after 1936, the assessment and instruction of aviators was transformed by adopting synthetic training aids. These devices were typified by the Link Trainer, an ersatz aeroplane that taught basic piloting skills and instrument flying. Purchased both by Australian civil operators and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Link Trainer use proliferated from 1939. After 1945, an escalating accident rate led the RAAF to consider an emergent technology: flight simulators. Developed in the UK and USA, Dehmel-style flight simulators were powered by analogue computers to emulate specific aircraft types. Drawing upon Korean War experience and Canadian precedents, in 1956 the RAAF took delivery of Australia's first flight simulator, Redifon's model C.773 for the Avon Sabre fighter. Integrating both military and civilian experience, this article argues that western faith in flight simulators often ran ahead of their capabilities and fidelity to ‘seat of the pants’ flying.