Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. Generally speaking, which types of piston engines should be leaned for takeoff from airports at high density altitudes and which should not?
2. The most prolific breeding ground in the world for tornadoes is in the United States and is called Tornado Alley, which consists primarily of four states. What are the two states (or parts of states) in Tornado Alley that annually spawn the greatest number of tornadoes per unit area?
3. Why is the application of carburetor heat least effective in preventing carburetor ice during a gliding approach in an airplane, a time when it is needed the most?
4. A pilot departs Reno, Nevada, on a VFR flight plan to Santa Monica, California, at 1940 UTC. She makes an en route position report at 2030 during which she estimates her next reporting fix at 2110. She also changes the ETA for her destination from 2240 to 2225 UTC. The pilot, however, is not heard from again. In this case, a telephonic search for the aircraft would begin at _______ UTC. If it were not located in this manner, a decision to initiate search-and-rescue activities would be made at _____ UTC.
5. Estimate, within a quarter-inch of mercury, the greatest atmospheric pressure ever recorded.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

6. A pilot is flying VFR at night in Class G airspace at 10,500 feet msl and more than 1,200 feet agl. The minimum visibility for this flight is _____ sm, and the cloud clearance requirements are the same as when flying VFR during the day and at the same altitude as when in Class _____ airspace.
   1. 1, B
   2. 1, E
   3. 3, B
   4. 3, E
   5. 5, B
   6. 5, E
7. Nobel laureate Dr. Alexis Carrel was one of the two co-inventors of the artificial (mechanical) heart. The other was famed pilot
   1. Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
   2. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle.
   3. Howard Hughes.
   4. Charles A. Lindbergh.
8. Tornadoes are born in the bellies of thunderstorms and most often are found in the ___ portion of such storms.
   1. northeast
   2. southeast
   3. southwest
   4. northwest
9. A pilot is on a long straight-in approach to a runway at night. During his descent, the tower controller gradually turns down the intensity of the runway lights. The most likely result is that the pilot would unwittingly
   1. descend below the normal descent profile.
   2. rise above the normal descent profile.
   3. The descent profile would not be affected.
   4. The result cannot be determined.

TRUE OR FALSE

10. With an elevation of 9,927 feet msl, Leadville, Colorado, is the highest airport in the United States with an FAA-approved instrument approach.
11. From reader Penny Wilson: The Cuban eight was first performed and demonstrated by a Frenchman, and the chandelle was first performed and demonstrated by a Cuban.

ANSWERS

1. In general, normally aspirated engines should be leaned and those with turbocharged engines should not. (The pilot's operating handbook, however, is the final authority regarding this subject.)
2. Oklahoma and northern Texas. The other two states forming Tornado Alley are Kansas and Nebraska.
3. Engine exhaust is used to heat induction air to melt or prevent the formation of carburetor ice. An idling engine does not develop as much exhaust heat as does an engine delivering power. This is one reason to periodically apply power during a prolonged glide.
4. 2255 and 2355 UTC. A telephonic search begins 30 minutes after the most current destination ETA. A decision to activate search-and-rescue efforts is made an hour later. Although en route position reports are not required when on a VFR flight plan, they are strongly encouraged.
5. 32.01 inches Hg at Agata, Siberia, on December 31, 1968. The greatest recorded in the United States was 31.85 inches Hg at Barrow, Alaska, on January 31, 1989.
6. (f) During the day and when less than 1,200 feet agl, however, the pilot needs only a visibility of one mile and to remain clear of clouds.
7. (d) In 1935, Lindbergh and Carrel developed an external pump that could be used to sustain blood circulation during heart surgery. Lindbergh also developed a centrifuge to separate blood plasma without damaging it.
8. (c) As a visual aid in determining the safest direction of thunderstorm circumnavigation, consider that tornadoes usually descend from a rotating wall cloud that often forms the lowest portion of the thunderstorm cloud base.
9. (b) Similarly, pilots tend to descend prematurely when the lights get brighter or when visibility is unusually good. Bright lights make an object appear closer than it really is.
10. False. Leadville does not have an instrument approach. The highest airport with one is Telluride Regional Airport (also in Colorado). Field elevation there is 9,078 feet msl, and the minimum descent altitudes for the three IFR approaches are 11,100, 11,600, and 12,380 feet msl.
11. False. The first Cuban eight is credited to Len Povey, a colorful American barnstormer of the 1930s who headed the Cuban Air Force and was Cuban President Fulgencio Batista's personal pilot. The first chandelle is credited to French pilot Maurice Chevillard, who performed a maneuver he originally called a looping helicoidal.