Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. It takes time to pump air out of an altitude chamber and reduce the atmospheric pressure inside. If a pilot wearing a spacesuit is sitting in such a chamber at an "altitude" of 25,000 feet, how is it possible to simulate explosive decompression and instantly elevate the chamber to 73,000 feet?
2. Marginal VFR (MVFR) conditions are forecast when the ceiling is expected to be between _____ and _____ feet, and visibility is expected to be between _____ and _____ statute miles.
3. From reader Diana Lynn Barnes: Acrophobia is a fear of heights, and _____ is a fear of flying in an aircraft.
4. One of the most famous aircraft equipped with a canard surface was Burt Rutan's Voyager. What was the first aircraft with a canard?
5. During his preflight runup and magneto check, a pilot inadvertently turns off both magnetos. What should he do before returning the magnetos to the On position?
6. The mammoth Goodyear airships Akron and Macon were naval aircraft carriers. Each could carry (in internal hangars), launch, and retrieve four Curtiss F9C-2 Sparrowhawk fighters. The aircraft were launched by simply dropping them, but how were they retrieved?
7. To establish adequate separation, the FAA classifies aircraft according to the amount of wake turbulence they can generate. Heavy aircraft have a maximum-allowable takeoff weight of more than _____ pounds, large aircraft weigh between _____ and _____ pounds, and small aircraft weigh _____ pounds or less.
8. What is bombogenesis?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

9. What is the most likely cause of an accident resulting from a climbing downwind turn (in a strong, steady-state wind) near the ground and shortly after takeoff?
   1. The pilot failed to account for the increased stall speed unique to turning downwind.
   2. An airplane tends to overbank more during a downwind turn than an upwind turn.
   3. During a downwind turn, the headwind becomes a tailwind that causes a loss of airspeed.
   4. The pilot reacts to a sense of increasing groundspeed.
10. A pilot departed Tahiti (where local time is UTC minus 10 hours) at 2245 local time on June 23 on a 3,300-nm, nonstop flight to Sydney, Australia (where local time is UTC plus 10 hours). He landed at 0115 local time on June 25. Both airports are in the Southern Hemisphere. His airplane was a
    1. Rutan Long-EZ with long-range tanks.
    2. Boeing 777.
    3. Concorde.
    4. hypersonic aerospace vehicle.
11. Which of the following does not belong?
    1. Heavy rain from a thunderstorm
    2. Virga
    3. Trees bending with the wind
    4. A ring of blowing dust

TRUE OR FALSE

12. A pilot may drop a bowling ball from his aircraft.
13. From reader and astronaut Jay Apt: While orbiting the Earth, shuttle astronauts note that the sky is black during both the daytime and nighttime portions of each orbit. This means that they can see stars at all times.
14. Civil turbojet-powered, Transport category airplanes operating under FAR Part 121 are not required to be equipped with emergency locator transmitters (ELTs).

ANSWERS

1. The altitude chamber in which the pilot sits is smaller (215 cubic feet, for example) than a larger chamber (1,350 cubic feet) to which it is connected. The larger chamber is prepared by slowly depressurizing it to an "altitude" of 130,000 feet. When the valves between the two chambers are opened, the pressure inside both suddenly equalizes at 73,000 feet.
2. 1,000 and 3,000 feet, and 3 and 5 sm.
3. Aviophobia. It is not aerophobia, which is a fear of drafts of air, gases, or airborne matter.
4. The 1903 Wright Flyer.
5. He should first close the throttle to prevent the engine from backfiring.
6. The pilot approached the belly of the airship while flying slowly. His goal was to engage a trapeze-like device hanging from the bottom of the dirigible using a large, open hook mounted on top of the aircraft.
7. 255,000 pounds; more than 41,000 and up to 255,000 pounds; 41,000 pounds or less.
8. It is a sudden, almost explosive development of an intense low-pressure system. Refer to the Web ( http://web.nws.cestm.albany.edu/Research/97bliz.html) to see a weather chart showing one.
9. (d) As the pilot peripherally senses increasing groundspeed during a downwind turn, he might unwittingly interpret this as an unwanted airspeed increase and raise the nose. The increasing pitch can result in a low-altitude stall.
10. (b) Takeoff was at 0845 UTC on the 24th, and landing was at 1515 UTC on the 24th. The 3,300-nm flight, therefore, took six hours and 30 minutes for an average groundspeed of roughly 500 knots. From these choices, the aircraft had to have been a Boeing 777.
11. (c) The other items are visual signs indicating the possible presence of a microburst.
12. True. According to FAR 91.15, a pilot may drop any object as long as "reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to people or property."
13. False. Even though the sky is black during the daytime portion of Earth orbit, overwhelming sunlight, scattered light in the windows or helmet, and reflected light from the shuttle prevent the human eye from adapting sufficiently to see starlight.
14. This is true for airliners not certified for extended overwater operations. It is presumed that when an airliner crashes, its location will be known, which is not necessarily true.

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