The Link Trainer
The Link Trainer, an early version of a flight simulator, played a crucial role in preparing BCATP recruits for the challenges of real flight. 

BCATP Assessors used the ground-based Trainer to assess a recruit's coordination at Initial Training Schools (ITS), while BCATP Instructors used it to teach basic instrument flying, following radio beacons, and navigating a flight plan at BCATP Schools.

To support the British war effort, Edwin A. Link, the American inventor, had to produce his Trainer in a Commonwealth country. In 1937, he opened a Canadian factory in Gananoque, Ontario, where over 5,000 Link Trainers were manufactured. This significant production not only aided the war effort but also transformed the factory into one of the town's most essential businesses, employing over 200 workers.

The Link Trainer, a simple form of an analogue computer, was designed to simulate realistic flight conditions. Its primary component was a mock-up aeroplane cockpit fitted with a complete set of standard aircraft controls, working gauges, and instruments. The pupil used these to fly simulated but realistic flight patterns, providing a high-fidelity training experience.

Basic cockpit instruments provide essential information about an aircraft's performance and position. The basic instruments include an airspeed indicator, altimeter, artificial horizon, turn coordinator, heading indicator, and vertical speed indicator.

The Training Simulator consisted of several pieces. The student was strapped into the seat of a simulated aeroplane cockpit. The entire cockpit pivoted on a universal joint mounted on a square base. Between the fuselage and the turntable base were four supporting air bellows, which were inflated or deflated by a vacuum pump. The bellows air valves automatically operated as the pupil moved the control column, and the resulting actions realistically recreated most of the sensations of flying.

The AN-T-18 D-2 version of the Trainer could rotate through 360 degrees. This model has a magnetic compass installed for practising navigation. All other cockpit instruments triggered realistically, either mechanically or by air pressure.

A hinged hood covered the training cockpit when it was in action. The student flew a planned course or route using the instruments and no visual clues, and this was automatically recorded and traced by the three-wheeled Ink Plotter across a paper map on an instructor's desk.

A duplicate instrument panel was part of the Instructor's Station. The instructor was able to follow all the students' inputs as they flew a simulated flight plan. The instructor was also able to transmit realistic simulated radio beacon signals and radio messages, and even simulate calm and rough-air flying conditions.

The Trainer could initiate a simulated stall when recorded airspeed and attitude fall outside predetermined limits. The cockpit would then go into a realistic spin, with the instruments performing normally for the conditions.

A cross-country simulated flight of 200 miles was possible, during which the instructor was able to confront the pupil with most of the difficulties that could occur during a genuine flight.

Every BCATP recruit destined to become a pilot needed to pass coordination and navigation tests in a Link Trainer.

The Fleet Model 16 - Finch
The Fleet Finch is a two-seat (instructor plus a student) training biplane produced by Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie, Ontario. Approximately 450 Finches were manufactured. Nearly all of them were used as elementary trainers in BCATP.
The aircraft was constructed using welded steel-tube to create a fuselage, a design feature that provided strength and durability, and had wood and canvas components, which were lightweight and conducive to aerobatic maneuvers.

The RCAF acquired the aircraft as an elementary trainer before the war, and it entered service in the form of a traditional byplane with an open cockpit. No one predicted flight training would be required in all weather conditions. The severity of the Canadian winter soon necessitated the addition of a sliding canopy and a heater for the crew.

The Fleet biplane was not only relatively easy to fly but also a simple to maintain and repair, largely due to its open engine layout. The aircraft was designed right from the beginning for basic aerobatic manoeuvres and was strong enough to handle rough landings. The plane featured an American-made engine, making spare and replacement parts more readily available to the Schools in Canada.

The American-designed Finch was a cornerstone of the RCAF Training before and during the early part of the Second World War. Its timely manufacturing and deliveries from the Fleet Aircraft factory in Canada were instrumental in allowing BCATP training programs to start up quickly.

The Fleet Finch was used extensively at the BCATP Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) across Canada.

The Finch was progressively phased out of service and replaced by more modern Training Aircraft starting in 1944, as advancements in aviation technology and the changing needs of the war effort necessitated more advanced training aircraft.

de Havilland DH.82 - Tiger Moth

The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth was a British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in England beginning in the 1930s.

The Tiger Moth's exceptional handling made it the preferred choice for pilot training in the RAF, leading to its adoption as the primary trainer throughout the Commonwealth. Its role in shaping the skills of thousands of young military pilots is a significant chapter in aviation history.

The two-seat Tiger Moth proved to be an ideal trainer. It was inexpensive to acquire and simple to maintain. Its controls required a positive and sure hand.

Overseas manufacturing of the type commenced in 1937. The first such overseas builder was the de Havilland factory at its facility in Downsview, Ontario. De Havilland manufactured a total of 1,548 of various versions, including the DH.82C, Canadian version with the British Gipsy Major engine. The production run included a version known as the Menasco Moth, which used the American Menasco engine.

The Canadian-built Tiger Moths were equipped with additional modifications to accommodate the rough local landing fields and variable climate.

The landing gear was shortened, raked forward and strengthened to help prevent tipping forward during landing on grass fields. A tail wheel was added to aid on rough surfaces, and hand-operated brakes were added for enhanced control.

The Canadian Training version of the Tiger Moth was visibly different from its European counterparts as it had a large sliding, greenhouse-like canopy fitted over the cockpit to protect the crew from inclement weather. The bulge design was required so new pilots could tilt their heads to see the runway during approaches and landings. The Canadian version also featured cabin heaters, allowing instructors and pilots to fly the aircraft more comfortably during cold winter days.

The Tiger Moth's biplane design, coupled with its full aerobatic capabilities, made it a strong and reliable aircraft. Its forgiving nature during typical flight phases, coupled with the need for full attention and precise handling during aerobatic and formation training, instilled a sense of safety and reliability in the pilots who trained on it.

The aircraft would gradually stall or spin if mishandled, but this situation was easily recoverable, showing deficient piloting without immediately endangering the aircraft. This flying characteristic in practice proved to be invaluable to observing BCATP Instructors as they needed to quickly identify and sort the pilots who had the potential to go on to learn to fly far less forgiving, more powerful fighter aircraft from the pilots who were going to be more suited to stable, larger aircraft, and pupils who needed to be moved to non-pilot aircrew positions.

The Tiger Moth's enduring legacy is evident in the numerous aircraft that have been preserved in their original condition around the world. Seen flying at small airshows and in museum displays, these aircraft serve as a testament to the aircraft's impact on pilot training.

Avro 652A - Anson
In 1933, the British Air Ministry proposed that the RAF acquire an economical land-based aircraft for coastal duties. The aircraft they suggested would supplement the larger, long-range, complex, and far more expensive to operate flying boats, which the RAF had adopted for conducting maritime reconnaissance missions off the shores of Britain.

The Anson, designed and first built by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro, was chosen to fulfill the requirement. The Avro Anson, a twin-engine, low-wing cantilever monoplane and possessed numerous redeeming features, including considerable load-carrying ability and long range. The Anson was a relatively straightforward and uncomplicated design, relying on proven methods and robust construction to produce an airframe that minimized maintenance requirements.

As the capabilities of aircraft rapidly developed in the late 1930s, the armed Anson was replaced by a substantially faster and far more robust aircraft, the American-built Lockheed Hudson.

The Anson was shuffled into a training role, and it achieved almost immediate success. Ansons were first deployed for training, replacing the obsolete and worn-out older generation bombers that were then used for multi-engine aircraft training.

The RCAF and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) acquired the Anson aircraft for maritime and coastal patrol missions, as well as transportation duties and training roles.

The BCATP adopted the Anson as one of the standard aircraft for Service Flying Training Schools (FSTS). Eventually, more than 20,000 BCATP aircrew received specialty training on the Anson. As well as being used to transition new pilots from single to more complex multi-aircraft, the Anson was also used to train and test navigators, radio operators, engineers, bomb aimers and even air gunners and for the many crew positions of the newly introduced large four-engined bombers.

Originally, Anson's airframes were manufactured in Britain and imported by cargo ship for final assembly in Canada. Several Canadian companies took on the task. In 1940, a Canadian Crown Corporation, Federal Aircraft Limited, was formed to better coordinate the manufacture and development of the Anson for Canadian use.

The aircraft was modified to use more North American-built parts. The new variants Mk II. III.IV, V, and VI, included numerous additional airframe and equipment changes. The Canadian-built versions used American Jacobs, Wright, or Pratt and Whitney engines rather than the imported Armstrong-Siddeley Cheetahs from Britan, as theses engines and replacement parts were more readily available from factories just across the border.

Spurred by a wartime steel shortage, a unique moulded plywood fuselage version of the aircraft, the  ‘Vidal Anson’ was developed. This technique, pioneered by Gene Vidal, involved using heat and pressure to mould plywood into complex shapes for aircraft construction during World War II. Heaters and ducting systems to distribute the heat were introduced as BCATP training missions continued both during the day and night, all year-round. A Canadian-built hydraulic system was introduced to lower and raise the landing gear to facilitate short turnaround times and to keep up with a training schedule. New accessory racks held parachutes for the trainees, and quick-release mechanisms were added to the exit doors.

Canadian-built aircraft included modifications for specific training, including large round windows fitted on each side of the cabin for observation, additional sets of radios, small desks to hold navigation maps, reading lamps, an astrodome in the roof for navigational training, and a glazed nose cap for observation and bomb aimer training.

Other aircraft had the inner wing modified to contain a bomb bay to hold practice bomb bombs with provision for eight further bombs under the fuselage. One version included the addition of a hydraulically-operated Bristol Mk. IV gun-turret.

The BCATP adopted the Anson as one of the standard aircraft for Service Flying Training Schools (FSTS).  The Anson's role in training was not limited to pilots. The aircraft was also used for higher levels of training in realistic conditions for navigators, radio operators, engineers, bomb aimers, and even air gunners. The aircraft's versatility and reliability made it an invaluable tool to help fill the many crew positions of the newly introduced multi-engined bombers of Bomber Command. 

After WW II, Ansons continued in military service for quite a time. They were retired from the RCAF in 1954 and continued flying with the RAF until 1968.

When manufacture ceased in 1952, over 11,000 Ansons had been built across the world - nearly 3,000 of them in Canada. During WWII, yellow-winged Ansons were seen flying regular training missions over almost every city and town in Canada. 

As a trainer and service aircraft, the Anson was docile, forgiving, and largely easy to fly. It was also reliable. Due to its reputation, it was affectionately dubbed ‘Faithful Annie’ by those who flew it.