Overview
This simulator was designed and built by Link Flight Simulation in Binghamton, New York, for Air France in 1968-1970. Wings of Eagles Discovery Center acquired the simulator in December 2005 from Binghamton Simulator Company and it had previously been in service at American Airlines. It was restored and reprogrammed by WEDC volunteers Craig Bergman and George Foray to “fly” from and return to O’Hare International Airport. The computer and peripheral cabinets are on static display outside the cockpit. The hydraulic system used to provide motion has been omitted due to power requirements to operate the hydraulic pump.
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size narrow-body three-engine jet aircraft built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It can carry 149 to 189 passengers and later models can fly up to 2,400 to 2,700 nautical miles (4,400 to 5,000 km) nonstop. Intended for short and medium-length flights, the 727 can use fairly short runways at smaller airports. It has three Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines below the T-tail, one on each side of the fuselage with a center engine that draws air through an S-duct from an inlet at the base of the vertical stabilizer. The 727 was heavily produced into the 1970s; the last 727 was completed in 1984.