Learning to Fly
"When my father heard I started to fly he threatened to disown me, but I, like many youngsters, was stubborn."
From Sky to Sea: A Story of Edwin A. Link, Susan van Hoek with Marion Clayton Link (10)
This was the age of barnstorming: an era when civilian stunt pilots captivated the country by performing perilous stunts in the air. Link was friendly with several barnstormers, and he traded menial work like taxiing their planes down runways for lessons on flying and navigation. His determination to fly outmatched his father’s disapproval, who even (temporarily) fired him from the Organ and Piano Company to convince him to stop. Still, Link was hired back because of his expertise, and filed a patent in 1924 for a method of cleaning pieces of the player pianos. He continued to devoted his time between the family business, flying, and nurturing several hobbies, including photography.