No, it's serious

Looks like a kid's ride... but the Link Trainer was the real thing, used to learn the basics of instrument flying in dozens of countries around the world, from the 1930's up through the 1950's - and in particular, was an indispensable aid for training the thousands of pilots who flew on both sides in WWII. (Not just the US, UK, and USSR - but also Germany and Japan.)

It would turn and tilt as the trainee manipulated the controls - possibly the first trainer to include motion, a key part of even amusement park rides these days. (And amusingly enough, the prototype was built using bellows from his family's pipe organ business.)

This particular example is at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, but I've seen them at air museums all around the country. It's nice to see this one getting pride of place; it used to be stuck off in a corner, but for the moment it gets its own little display alcove. :)