The first electro-mechanical flight simulator was the Link Trainer which was patented on 14th April 1929. It comprised a replica of an Aeroplane with full controls and instruments, which did not leave the ground instead it was attached to a mechanical crab that traced a path over a large scale map in such a way as to represent heading speed and time of the replica aircraft flown by its occupant.

Invented by Edward Albert Link who sold his first model in 1919. It was adopted by the US Navy in 1931 and by the US Army in 1934. By 1939 there was scarcely an air force in the world that was not using Link Trainers.They can be regarded as the fore runners of today's complex flight simulators.