Test Pilot

1. What was the largest, heaviest, and most powerful American fighter airplane of World War II?

2. A pilot can encounter structural icing when flying through a cloud consisting of supercooled water droplets (water that remains in a liquid state below zero degrees Celsius). Why do these droplets not freeze when the ambient temperature is below freezing?

3. From reader John Schmidt: Five American aircraft carriers have been converted into floating museums. What are their names and where are they located?

4. Which of the following is not true?

a. The 172 was Cessna’s first production airplane to be equipped with tricycle landing gear.
b. The Hawker Siddeley Trident was the first production airplane with an autoland system.
c. On early model Boeing B–52 Stratofortresses, the tail gunner could escape the aircraft by jettisoning the entire tail turret.
d. The pilot of the mammoth, single-engine Antonov AN–2 Colt (Anushka) biplane can use an on-board compressor to vary the air pressure in the oleo struts to suit the type of surface on which he intends to land.

5. What are the two primary purposes of a fuel vent?

6. Why does moving the center of gravity forward make an airplane more stable in pitch and yaw?

7. During World War II, Germany launched V–1 flying bombs (known as buzz bombs and doodlebugs) from northern France toward London. These pilotless “aircraft” incorporated an autopilot to keep them headed in the right direction. Without a navigation system, though, how did these bombs “know” when they were over the target?

8. True or false? Other than during an emergency, a pilot may not operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner.

1. Far from the fastest, the Northrop P–61 Black Widow had a wingspan of 66 feet and a maximum takeoff weight of 36,200 pounds. This night fighter was powered by two 2,250-horsepower engines, carried a three-man crew, and was the first to be equipped with radar for detecting enemy aircraft.

2. The most common reason is that water vapor condenses on microscopic salt particles (hygroscopic nuclei), and this lowers the freezing point of the droplets. When disturbed by an airplane, however, these droplets can change instantly to ice.

3. USS Hornet (Alameda, California), USS Intrepid (New York, New York), USS Lexington (Corpus Christi, Texas), USS Midway (San Diego, California), and USS Yorktown (Charleston, South Carolina).

4. a) The Cessna 310 was first produced in 1954. The prototype Cessna 172 did not fly until 1955, and the prototype Cessna 150 did not fly until 1957.

5. One is to allow air to replace consumed fuel in the tank and prevent an interruption of fuel flow to the engine. Another is to allow fuel to overflow, such as when fuel in a full tank expands because of solar heating.

6. Moving the center of gravity forward increases the distance between the CG and the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. This increases the stabilizers’ leverage and makes them more effective. Moving the CG aft reduces pitch and yaw stability.

7. A small propeller was mounted on the nose of the V–1. When it had spun a precalculated number of revolutions, a cutoff signal was sent to the engine (a pulse jet), and the buzz bomb would begin a steep descent. This crude system was effective because London was such a large target.

8. False. Although obviously discouraged, a pilot may fly in a careless or reckless manner as long as he does not endanger the life or property of another.