Test Pilot

1. From reader Vince Scala: What is the world’s fastest production, propeller-driven airplane?

2. True or false? Microbursts can have vertical velocities in excess of 1,800 feet per minute at only 200 feet above the ground.

3. From reader Ed Drury: What certified twin-engine aircraft may legally and safely be operated in any phase of flight (including takeoff) using only one engine?

4. What is the primary reason for shutting down an engine with the mixture control instead of by turning off the ignition?

5. From reader John Schmidt: Why are all civil and military aircraft grounded in South Korea for one specific hour every year?

6. In the classic Humphrey Bogart film, Casablanca, the airplane boarded by Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and Victor (Paul Henreid) at the end of the movie was a

a. Beech 18 Twin Beech.
b. Lockheed 12A Electra Junior.
c. Lockheed 18 Lodestar.
d. It was not a real airplane.

7. From reader Paul Reinman: If American soldiers were discussing P–38s and P–51s but were not referring to airplanes, to what important items were they referring?

8. True or false? During cruise flight, a pilot experiences total power failure in his single-engine airplane. To maximize glide range, he should pull up the nose and convert excess airspeed into altitude until reaching the best glide speed.

Test Pilot Answers

1. The world speed record of 473.65 knots (545.07 mph) is held by an unmodified Tupolev Tu–114 Russiya. It is the world’s largest propeller-driven airliner and a civilian derivative of the swept-wing Tu–95 Bear, a Russian bomber. Each of its four turboprop engines drives a pair of contra-rotating propellers and produces 14,800 shaft horsepower.

2. True. To qualify as a downburst or microburst, vertical velocity must be at least 720 fpm at 300 feet above the ground.

3. The Tridair Gemini ST helicopter is a twin-engine conversion of the single-engine Bell 206L LongRanger. When taking off using both engines, there is no written procedure for an engine failure—you just keep going.

4. Using the mixture control allows fuel in the cylinders to be consumed during shutdown. If the engine is shut down by turning off the magnetos, a hot spot in a cylinder can ignite remaining fuel after shutdown and endanger someone near the propeller.

5. Suneung, the second Thursday in November, is when South Korean students take their college-entrance examinations. Airplanes are grounded during their intense hour-long oral exams to prevent distraction.

6. (b) This was similar to the Lockheed 10E Electra used by Amelia Earhart during her ill-fated attempt to fly around the world.

7. The P–38, known as a John Wayne by the Marines, and the P–51 are very small GI can openers provided with field rations from World War II until the 1980s.

8. False. “Zooming” or “roller-coastering” is inefficient and wastes energy. It is more efficient to maintain altitude until the aircraft has decelerated to its best glide speed.