Overview
During and after World War II, large piston driven civilian and military aircraft required a special crewman to monitor their engines, electrical and environmental systems. This crewman, the Flight Engineer, ensured the smooth operation of these systems, freeing the pilots and other crewmen to concentrate on the mission. (See also, the Singer-Link Boeing 727 simulator) This particular station was used to train engineers on the Boeing C-97A “Stratofreighter” and KC-97 “Stratotanker”, a version of the C-97A used after World War II in the aerial refueling role. After World War II, Boeing produced a double deck, commercial version of the C-97 called the Boeing 377 “Stratocruiser”.