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LM Cockpit Mockup circa 1967

LM Procedures Trainer

Photographed early in 2002 by Frank O'Brien
at the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garden City, New York.
(Click on the image for a larger version.)

 

Frank O'Brien writes: "In one of the history books (I forget which one), they talk about how good Grumman was in building cockpit mockups. Apparently, they were masters at the art. I am of the belief that these are pictures of a cockpit mockup, that was used for crew 'fit and function' evaluation. My argument for this being a 'cockpit evaluation mockup', contrasted with a 'procedures trainer' is that the layout is quite old - many of the side panels are empty or completely different from those in the flown LMs. The DSKY and DEDA are dummies - you can't even press the buttons. I can't think of many things that you would do without that capability. Finally, and most importantly, it looks perfectly brand-new. Absolutely no wear anywhere. Contrast that with the LM simulator, which is, frankly, beaten to death. Josh Stoff, the curator at Cradle of Aviation Museum, swears that it is a procedures trainer; and we've agreed to disagree. I guess that's life. It would be my guess that this cockpit layout reflected the best thinking in 1967 or so."

 

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