Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. While flying an aircraft with a fuel-injected engine, a pilot notices that the head temperature of one cylinder is significantly hotter than the others. What is the most likely cause of this overheating?
2. From reader Jane Garvey: When an American flies in England, he is likely to hear some unusual nomenclature. What expressions might a British pilot use when referring to a wet-cell battery, fuel, a horizontal stabilizer, landing gear, leveling off (at the end of a climb or descent), a propeller, and a wing?
3. German airship designers obviously knew that hydrogen is flammable and that helium is not. So why was hydrogen used on the ill-fated Hindenburg and other German airships?
4. Although helicopters are extremely maneuverable, their performance is limited. Estimate within 10 knots and 5,000 feet the official world speed and altitude records for a helicopter.
5. Why does outside air temperature decrease with a gain in altitude?
6. From reader Hal Fishman: During World War II, what were Weary Willies?
7. When a pilot makes an early morning departure, he might refer to leaving on a dawn patrol. What is the origination of the term dawn patrol?
8. A pilot flying close to and above a cloud layer sees the sharply defined shadow of his aircraft completely encircled by a rainbow-like ring. This is called a _____.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

9. A pilot flying over California is maintaining a magnetic heading of 180 degrees. If he were to begin rolling into a left turn, his magnetic compass would initially indicate a turn toward the _____. If he were to begin rolling into a left turn while on a magnetic heading of 360 degrees, his compass would initially indicate a turn toward the _____.

   1. east, east
   2. east, west
   3. west, east
   4. west, west

10. To increase the likelihood that cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) and flight data recorders (FDRs) can survive an accident, they are built to withstand _______ Gs (in 6.5 milliseconds) and saltwater pressure equivalent to that found at an ocean depth of _______ feet.

    1. 1,700, 10,000
    2. 1,700, 20,000
    3. 3,400, 10,000
    4. 3,400, 20,000

11. The agonic line extends from near the magnetic north pole to the northeastern tip of Minnesota and to a point abeam Chicago before exiting the United States near

    1. Jacksonville, (eastern) Florida.
    2. New Orleans, Louisiana.
    3. Pensacola, (western) Florida.
    4. Savannah, Georgia.

TRUE OR FALSE?

12. Other than in the vicinity of certain airports, the base of all Class E airspace in the United States is at either 700 or 1,200 feet agl.
13. For multiengine pilots: The Lockheed P–38 Lightning was one of the first twin-engine airplanes to have counterrotating propellers. When viewed from behind, the left propeller turned clockwise, and the right engine turned counterclockwise.
14. When a pilot makes a crosswind landing in a Boeing B–52 Stratofortress, his goal is to touch down in a wings-level crab.

ANSWERS

1. A partially clogged fuel injector is most likely causing the misbehaving cylinder to operate with an excessively lean fuel-air mixture.
2. Accumulator, petrol, tail plane, alighting gear (or undercarriage), flattening out, airscrew, and main plane.
3. The United States had a monopoly on the world production of helium and would not sell this inert gas to the German government.
4. 216.46 knots in a Westland Lynx (British) and 40,820 feet in an Alouette SA 315-001 Lama (French). Both aircraft are turbine-powered.
5. The sun heats the surface of the Earth, which in turn heats the atmosphere from below. The higher we climb above this heat source (the Earth) and distance ourselves from it, the more the temperature decreases (approximately 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, per 1,000 feet in the troposphere).
6. These were worn-out (weary) B–17s and B–24s that were loaded with explosives and flown into enemy targets by remote control.
7. Dawn patrol is a military term referring to a dawn departure for the purpose of observing any shift in enemy lines or ground forces that might have occurred during the previous night.
8. Glory. Much rarer is a double glory, when a second rainbow-like ring concentrically surrounds the first.
9. (a) When on a northerly heading, northerly turning error initially causes a compass to turn in the wrong direction. When on a southerly heading, it initially causes a compass to move excessively but in the proper direction.
10. (d) Flight recorders also must be capable of surviving a fuel fire of 2,000 degrees F for 30 minutes and a smoldering fire of 500 degrees for 10 hours.
11. (c) The agonic line connects points of zero magnetic variation and divides the United States into areas of easterly and westerly magnetic variation.
12. False. There are many areas (particularly in the southwestern U.S.) where the floor of Class E airspace is several thousand feet above the surface.
13. False. This would have been the preferred arrangement to minimize VMC (minimum-controllable airspeed with an engine out). The P–38’s propellers, however, turned contrarily. The only purpose of counterrotating these propellers was to neutralize the effect of torque and left-turning tendency with both engines operating at high power.
14. True. The bicycle-type landing gear is hydraulically aligned with the runway prior to touchdown so that there is no side loading on the tires when the aircraft touches down in a crab.