Talchotali
Capt. Marvel's Wise Friend
Junior is learning to drive, so I explained to him how we learned 'back in the day' - that is, back when we had regular moon travel, monorails, atomic powered freighters and scores of Pacific Northwest garage shops built affordable sailboats for the masses.
This brought back memories of the Aetna Driv-o-trainer, the best video game built around 16mm film.
This film explains all:
Wow - equipped for push-button automatics - must be from around 1960-64
The long read, from o'pedia:
The one I learned on in the 70's had a column auto and a three-on-the-tree and looked about this vintage. The clutch pedal would fold up and clip out of the way for a majority of the class - only one session was devoted to manual shifting, though I'd sneak mine down when I could.
This must have been the generation after, with a proper four-on-the-floor. I think that is a 'stang wheel.
Ok everybody, buckle up, and lets go for a drive (lights out Salley, - Tommy, turn on the projector please...):
This brought back memories of the Aetna Driv-o-trainer, the best video game built around 16mm film.
This film explains all:
Wow - equipped for push-button automatics - must be from around 1960-64
The long read, from o'pedia:
The Drivotrainer was an automobile driving simulator promoted by the Aetna Insurance Company and widely used in driver training classes.
As an automobile insurer since 1902, Aetna had a financial interest in promoting highway safety. The company committed to innovating new methods of driver instruction in 1935, when it introduced the "Reactometer", the first machine designed to record motorists' reaction time. The Reactometer was awarded the Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition of 1937, after which it toured the United States as part of a highway safety exhibit, and was displayed at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
Aetna next developed the "Driverometer", a trainer which used color motion pictures to simulate actual driving conditions and the "Roadometer", which provided a short motion picture test including most phases of automobile operation and provided a scorecard.
In 1951, Aetna developed the Aetna Drivotrainer, the first combination of automobile simulator and motion pictures designed for behind-the-wheel instruction in drivers' training classrooms. The Drivotrainer classroom contained 15 small single seat "Aetnacars" equipped with controls as similar as possible to those used in actual automobiles. The gas pedal changed the volume of the engine noise, the steering wheel and the clutch and brake pedals provided realistic resistance, even the seat mimicked an actual automobile seat, simulating a realistic on-road driving experience in the safety of the classroom. A motion picture projected on a large screen in front of the room provided the visual stimulus of a drive on streets and highways, while the students "drove" their simulators. Their responses were collected and recorded on a central unit for the instructor to monitor and correct.
The complete course included 22 films produced by Aetna in its motion picture bureau, in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education. The final exam film constituted a difficult 25-minute road test including many varied traffic situations and highway emergencies. These films were the first complete driver training course recorded on film to support classroom simulation.
The fronts and sides of the Aetnacars were designed to give a general automotive impression, with nonfunctional features such as headlights and bumpers, somewhat similar to the design of bumper cars and other arcade rides. Over time, their appearance was periodically updated, and later versions were equipped with simulated automatic transmission controls, rather than clutches and manual shift levers. The company also developed advanced driver improvement programs for the U.S. Postal Service and several states. [1]
In the late 1970s Aetna sold the Drivotrainer business to Doron Precision Systems, the company that manufactured the simulators.
The one I learned on in the 70's had a column auto and a three-on-the-tree and looked about this vintage. The clutch pedal would fold up and clip out of the way for a majority of the class - only one session was devoted to manual shifting, though I'd sneak mine down when I could.
This must have been the generation after, with a proper four-on-the-floor. I think that is a 'stang wheel.
Ok everybody, buckle up, and lets go for a drive (lights out Salley, - Tommy, turn on the projector please...):
