Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. What was driven by a propeller, could accelerate to and maintain 143 mph, but could not get off the ground?
2. Meteorology is the science that deals with atmospheric phenomena, especially weather and weather conditions. It has nothing whatever to do with meteors, so why is this field of study so named?
3. I was considered the greatest aviator of all time, but today I am the "forgotten father of aerobatics." Orville Wright called impossible what I could do with an airplane, even though 17 million Americans witnessed it during my 126-city tour in 1914. Pilots died trying to duplicate my feats. Thomas Edison said that my exhibition flying was a great contribution to science. Who am I?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

4. The earliest airports had landing areas that were shaped in the form of
   1. large circles.
   2. large rectangles.
   3. large squares.
   4. strips or runways shaped as they are today.
5. A pilot owns a 120-knot airplane powered by a 200-hp engine. He decides to modify the airplane with an engine that theoretically will double cruise performance. Everything else being equal, the new engine must produce approximately ________ times as much power.
   1. 2 (400 hp)
   2. 4 (800 hp)
   3. 6 (1,200 hp)
   4. 8 (1,600 hp)
6. Gyroplanes are similar to helicopters in that both incorporate rotors that develop lift. In no-wind conditions, most certified gyroplanes ________ take off vertically and ________ land vertically (no ground roll).
   1. can, can
   2. can, cannot
   3. cannot, can
   4. cannot, cannot
7. Global positioning system (GPS) signals are transmitted from satellite to receiver on frequencies in the _________ band.
   1. HF (3-30 MHz)
   2. VHF (30-300 MHz)
   3. UHF (300-3,000 MHz)
   4. SHF (3,000-30,000 MHz)
8. For once you have tasted flight,
   You will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward;
   For there you have been,
   And there you long to return.

   This well-known and beautiful piece of prose was written by

   1. Richard Bach.
   2. Leonardo da Vinci.
   3. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
   4. Ernest K. Gann.
9. Which of the following aviation movies won an Academy Award for being the Best Picture of the Year in 1927?
   1. The High and the Mighty
   2. The Spirit of St. Louis
   3. Twelve O'Clock High
   4. Wings
10. Which of the following does not belong?
    1. differential
    2. Fowler
    3. Frise
    4. slotted

ANSWERS

1. In 1931 Germany produced a train that was powered by a 500-hp "oil" engine, weighed 18 tons, and carried 40 passengers.
2. Ancient Greeks used the word meteorologik to refer to any object appearing in the sky, including clouds and shooting stars. Eventually, flaming rocks falling through the atmosphere became a part of astronomy, while weather-related phenomena continued to be classified as meteorological.
3. I am Lincoln Beachey, and I was first in America to perform a loop and the first anywhere to perform barrel rolls, tail slides, and a host of other aerobatic maneuvers. I was first to fly upside down and first to achieve terminal velocity during vertical flight. I also am credited with developing stall-recovery techniques. (No one ever accused me of being humble.)
4. (a.) Circular landing areas ensured that a pilot could always land into the wind. This was critical when flying early aircraft because they had limited crosswind capability. The windsock typically was at the center of the circle. Airships and blimps, which have virtually no ability to land crosswind, still use circular landing areas.
5. (d.) Airspeed for a given airframe varies approximately with the cube root of the horsepower increase. Doubling speed, therefore, requires eight times as much power. (The cube root of 8 is 2.)
6. (b.) Engine power is used to accelerate the rotors of most certified gyroplanes while the aircraft are at rest. The pilot then disengages a clutch-type mechanism and uses rotor momentum to make a jump takeoff. Although they can land in a very short distance, none can land without some ground roll.
7. (c.) The 24 satellites (21 plus 3 spares) transmit on two UHF frequencies, 1227.6 and 1575.42 MHz.
8. (b.) This Italian master (1452-1519) of the Renaissance era was writing about the flight of birds.
9. (d.) This 1927 World War I classic and Oscar winner starred Richard Arlen, Clara Bow, and Buddy Rogers.
10. (b.) Fowler refers to a type of wing flap. The other three are types of ailerons. (Flaps that do not operate in unison are called flaperons; they are not called differential flaps.)