Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. What is the primary reason to avoid operating an engine with excessive oil temperature (other engine parameters being normal)?
2. Tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes (or typhoons) are defined by their sustained wind speeds. A depression has a maximum of_____knots, a storm has a maximum of_____knots, and a hurricane has a minimum of _____ knots.
3. Why are some pilots in the habit of applying full power at the instant of touchdown while attempting to make a full-stop landing?
4. From reader Chuck Flagg: Air traffic controllers often use the expression "souls on board" when asking for the number of people aboard an aircraft in distress. How did this expression originate?
5. What are the two weather conditions most likely to produce extreme turbulence?
6. What was the first airliner (not a seaplane) to have both hydraulically boosted controls and a flight engineer's station?
7. Why do balloon pilots customarily carry champagne and cheese on their flights?
8. If a pilot wants to manually turn a propeller, why is it inadvisable to turn it backward?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

9. From reader Rob Coffman: Which of the following has not been operated successfully from an aircraft carrier?
   1. General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark.
   2. Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
   3. Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady.
   4. North American F-86 Sabre.
   5. North American P-51 Mustang.
10. From reader Jeff Pardo: The world record for the most parachute jumps by an individual in a 24-hour period is
    1. 65.
    2. 179.
    3. 351.
    4. 500.
11. A pilot planning a flight to Honolulu wants to minimize the length of the oceanic leg. He should take off from
    1. Alaska.
    2. California.
    3. Oregon.
    4. Washington.

TRUE OR FALSE

12. From reader April Holladay: Most pilots have observed lightning strike a mountaintop, so it would not be surprising to see lightning strike at or near the summit of Mount Everest.
13. From reader Bill Rimer: The L in the LTIO-540 Lycoming engine indicates that it is the left engine on a twin with counterrotating engines.
14. For instrument-rated pilots: An airport with a precision or nonprecision approach may be designated as an alternate airport if the forecast for the alternate at the estimated time of arrival at the alternate is "600 and 2" or "800 and 2," respectively.

TEST PILOT ANSWERS

1. Engine oil begins to lose its lubricating qualities at too high a temperature, thus increasing engine wear.
2. Up to 33 knots (38 mph) for a tropical depression, 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph) for a tropical storm, and 64 knots (74 mph) or greater for a hurricane.
3. Carrier pilots apply full power at the instant of touchdown in preparation for a go-around in the event that their tailhooks do not catch an arresting cable.
4. It originated with early maritime communications. The radio operator referred to those in distress as "poor sons of bitches" or S.O.B.s, which became sanitized as "souls on board."
5. It is most often encountered, one, in and below well-developed rotor clouds associated with mountain waves and, two, within severe thunderstorms characterized by hail (three-quarters of an inch or greater) and continuous lightning. This does not mean that extreme turbulence could not be found elsewhere.
6. The pressurized, four-engine Boeing S-307 Stratoliner.
7. According to FAA News, when Pilatre de Rozier landed the first manned balloon in a Parisian field, he pacified an incredulous and restless mob by offering them cheese and champagne, thus beginning the custom.
8. Turning a propeller backward can damage the vanes of a vacuum pump (if installed).
9. (d) The Hercules was the only one without a tailhook; the U-2 had folding wings; the F-111 flights led the way for the F-14; the Navy did not like the P-51's in-line engines.
10. (d) Mike Zang made the jumps from 2,100 feet near Fort Worth, Texas, last May, an average of one jump every two minutes and 53 seconds for 24 hours. Pilot Tom Bishop might have set a world record for the most takeoffs and landings in 24 hours.
11. (a) Cold Bay, Alaska, for example, is on the Alaska Peninsula and 34 nm closer to Honolulu than San Francisco.
12. False. Such lofty mountains apparently alter the development of thunderstorms. NASA's satellite detection system has yet to observe lightning strikes near the highest Tibetan peaks.
13. False. The L indicates that it is a left-turning engine and is actually the right engine on a twin with counterrotating engines.
14. False. This is a popular myth. To be designated as an alternate airport, the forecast for that airport must conform to the alternate minimums designated on the approach chart for that airport. Many airports require substantially better weather forecasts.

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