Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. Why is it easier for a pilot to overcontrol an airplane with an aft center of gravity than one with a forward CG?
2. Fog is a low cloud that is within _____ feet of the ground, and ground fog is less than _____ feet thick.
3. From reader Mark Barchenko: Explain how the average 20-year-old Boeing 747 has traveled backward more than 1,400 miles.
4. From reader Tad Vaughn: A pilot reviewing a cluster of METARs in the vicinity of his frequent destination notices that KMWN always seems to have the worst weather. Why is this not surprising?
5. Unscramble PORSHEMEAT ROTATENILNNIA DRATSAND to determine an important reference used by pilots.
6. Why are Gary Burrell and Min Kao so well known in general aviation circles?
7. Five torpedo bombers departed Fort Lauderdale on December 5, 1945, and were never seen again. Thus began the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. What points constitute the corners of this triangle?
8. Most pilots have heard of the Douglas DC-1, DC-2, DC-3, DC-4, DC-6, DC-7, DC-8, DC-9, and DC-10. What is or was the Douglas DC-5?

TRUE OR FALSE

9. From reader Dave Shaw: If a pilot takes off with the center of gravity of his airplane within its allowable range, he is assured that the CG will remain within limits for the duration of the flight as long as none of the cargo or passenger weight is shifted.
10. The first U.S.-certified airplane with cantilever wings (no struts) was introduced by Clyde Cessna in 1927.
11. On December 6, 1907, Lt. Thomas Selfridge became the first to fly a man-carrying kite, Cygnet 1, which was designed by Alexander Graham Bell.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

12. A pilot is practicing simulated instrument flight in his Beechcraft F33A Bonanza while wearing a view-limiting device (hood) and carrying a required safety pilot. Such a safety pilot must be at least a private pilot and (more than one may apply)
    1. be current in the type aircraft being flown.
    2. be qualified to fly complex, high-performance airplanes.
    3. have a current medical certificate.
    4. have an instrument rating.
    5. have the appropriate category and class ratings.
13. The upper limit of the jet route system (jet airways) in the United States is
    1. Flight Level 450.
    2. Flight Level 510.
    3. Flight Level 550.
    4. Flight Level 600.
14. The water-cooled engine used in the Wright Flyer during its flight on December 17, 1903, had _____ cylinders in an _____ configuration.
    1. 2, in-line
    2. 2, opposed
    3. 4, in-line
    4. 4, opposed

ANSWERS

1. As CG moves aft, the force required to pull aft on the control wheel and create a given G load decreases. If the CG moves sufficiently aft and coincides with the center of lift, the force required to pull Gs is nil because there is no load on the tail.
2. 50, 20.
3. This is the accumulated distance traveled during all of the times it has been pushed back from the gate. The same is true of other long-range airliners. According to Boeing, short- to medium-range airliners travel backward four to six times that distance.
4. Not all METARs are for airports. KMWN is the weather reporting station atop Mount Washington (elevation 6,288 feet msl) in New Hampshire's Presidential Range and can have some of the nastiest weather in North America. Although not shown on DUATS, such stations appear on AOPA's weather page ( www.aopa.org/members/wx/) and other sources.
5. INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ATMOSPHERE (ISA).
6. The first three letters of each of their first names form Garmin, as in Garmin International, a manufacturer of GPS receivers and other avionics.
7. They are generally considered to be Bermuda; Miami, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, although the Bermuda or Devil's Triangle is irregularly shaped.
8. It was a high-wing, 211-mph transport with tricycle landing gear and was powered by a pair of 900-horsepower Wright Cyclone or 1,050-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines. Introduced in 1939, only 12 were built.
9. False. While this is true for many airplanes, consuming fuel causes the CG to move in others.
10. False. The first was the Lockheed Vega followed by the Fokker F.10 Tri-Motor (both in July 1928). Cessna's sleek Model A was the third cantilever airplane (August 1928).
11. True. As an aside, it is widely believed that Glenn Curtiss obtained his idea for ailerons (instead of warped wings) from Bell.
12. (c, e) A pilot who has flown only a Piper J-3 Cub and has no instrument experience may serve as a safety pilot in a complex, high-performance airplane.
13. (a) Navigation above FL450 is via direct (point-to-point) and area navigation (RNAV) routes. FL600 is the upper limit of controlled airspace.
14. (c) The four-cycle engine developed 12 horsepower at 1,090 rpm, had a compression ratio of 4.4:1, had a displacement of 201 cubic inches, weighed 179 pounds, and did not have a throttle (it ran wide open).

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