Much of the pneumatic system was adapted directly from technology used in the organ factory. (In the 1970s, Link used parts scavenged from an inoperative trainer to help rebuild a Link pipe organ.) He formed the Link Aeronautical Corporation in 1929 to manufacture the trainers. His few early customers were amusement parks, not flight training schools; the early models served as amusement rides. Finally, in 1934, the United States Army Air Corps bought six. During World War II, more than half a million airmen were taught using the Link Trainer. In 2000 the Link Trainer was placed on the List of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks.