Test Pilot

Visit the author's Web site ( www.barryschiff.com).

GENERAL

1. What, if anything, is wrong with the following statement? During cruise flight, the pilot of a perfectly rigged and trimmed airplane simultaneously applies significant right rudder and sufficient left aileron to maintain a wings-level attitude. The slipping, cross-controlled airplane is made to remain on a constant heading with the slip-skid ball centered.
2. Famed stunt pilot Paul Mantz was killed during the filming of what well-known motion picture?
3. Why did the military develop TACAN (tactical air navigation) at a time when a similar navigational system, VOR/DME, had already been in civilian use and proven reliable?
4. A pilot plans to fly to all of the state capitals west of Los Angeles. Can you name them?
5. What is a pilot doing when he is said to be plowing?
6. I was born in Hannibal, Missouri, a poor child with a bleak future. I became interested in radios at the age of 10 and later dropped out of high school. After a stint in the Navy, a friend and I invented a practical car radio. I branched into avionics and later invented the 8-track cassette player. Who am I?
7. Why do migrating geese fly in a V-formation?
8. What was America's (and apparently the world's) first pressurized airliner?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

9. The familiar green David Clark headsets evolved from
   1. a brassiere.
   2. an Easter bonnet.
   3. a pair of earmuffs.
   4. pantyhose.
10. When making a forced landing on a rugged, rocky surface, the most crashworthy airplane is configured with _______ wings and _______ landing gear (everything else being equal).
    1. high, fixed
    2. high, retractable
    3. low, fixed
    4. low, retractable
11. Which of the following forces is responsible for the forward speed of an airplane in gliding flight?
    1. drag
    2. lift
    3. thrust
    4. weight

TRUE OR FALSE

12. Every one of the 50 states has recorded a record high temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
13. At least one conventional fighter aircraft of World War II was intentionally produced with one wing longer than the other.
14. A pilot is rolling into a sideslip while maintaining a constant heading with opposite (top) rudder. As bank angle increases, the turn coordinator indicates that the aircraft is turning, but the turn indicator does not.

ANSWERS

1. The application of right rudder with the wings held level forces a right yaw. The slip-skid ball will move left during this flat, skidding right turn.
2. Flight of the Phoenix, which starred James Stewart. Sadly, the scene had been filmed and was "in the can," but Mantz believed that he could improve the scene with an additional flight, the one during which he was killed.
3. VOR stations are not suitable for use on rolling and pitching ships at sea, and they are not adaptable to some of the extraordinary siting conditions required by military operations.
4. There are six: Carson City, Nevada; Honolulu, Hawaii; Juneau, Alaska; Olympia, Washington; Sacramento, California; and Salem, Oregon.
5. The low-speed, nose-high phase of takeoff in a seaplane is called plowing. This is when water pressure forces the nose of each float out of the water. The plowing phase of takeoff is followed by the higher-speed planing phase.
6. William P. "Bill" Lear, who is best known for his introduction of the Lear Jet in 1963 and giving birth to an entire industry.
7. To save energy. Except for the leader, each goose takes advantage of the lift from a current produced by the wake of the preceding bird. Geese often take turns as the leader of the formation.
8. The Boeing 307 Stratoliner. First inaugurated by TWA in 1940, the Stratoliner was a four-engine taildragger developed from the B-17 Flying Fortress.
9. (a). According to Flyer, Clark developed a new way to weave cloth while working for a bra manufacturer. This led to founding his own company, the development of anti-G suits for fighter pilots, and the design of headsets.
10. (d). The belly and wing roots of a low-wing retractable typically have greater structural integrity to accommodate the retraction system, related components, and additional stress.
11. (d). The component of aircraft weight parallel to the descending flight path is responsible for forward speed. This is why the best-glide speed increases as weight increases.
12. True. The lowest record high for a given state is exactly 100 degrees F and was recorded in Fort Yukon, Alaska, on June 27, 1915.
13. True. The left wing of the Italian Macchi C.202 Folgore was 8 and three-eighths inches longer than the right in an effort to counter the torque of the Daimler Benz 1,175-horsepower engine.
14. True. A turn coordinator senses both roll and yaw; a turn indicator senses only yaw.