Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. Many airplanes — especially large, heavy ones — have a maximum-allowable zero-fuel weight. What is the ZFW, and what is its purpose?
2. When reading METARs, pilots might notice that there are eight official obstructions to visibility. Four of them are fog, mist, smoke, and haze. What are the other four?
3. Because of its dimples, a golf ball flies more than twice as far as it would with a smooth surface. Why is this so?
4. The letters I and O in the designation of the Teledyne Continental IOF-550 indicate that the 550-cubic-inch engine is (fuel) injected and has (horizontally) opposed cylinders. What does the F represent?
5. In general, _____ _____ forms over coastal areas, _____ _____ forms over bodies of water, and _____ _____ forms over land.
6. Following the aerial attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto made a statement that has become a rallying cry in recent times. What did he say?
7. In describing a parachute, who said, "If man have a tent of linen without any apertures, 12 ells across and 12 in depth, he can throw himself down from any great height without injury"?
8. The FAA uses the acronym DECIDE to help a pilot remember the six steps used in the decision-making process. What are those steps?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

9. The world speed record for a seaplane with a reciprocating engine(s) is
   1. 321 mph.
   2. 381 mph.
   3. 441 mph.
   4. 501 mph.
10. Most early airplanes were biplanes. The first monoplane certified in the United States was built by
    1. Boeing.
    2. Douglas.
    3. Fairchild.
    4. Fokker.
11. A pilot uses the natural horizon to recover from a steep 180-degree right turn. The conventional attitude indicator will have precessed slightly during the turn and show a
    1. climbing left turn.
    2. climbing right turn.
    3. descending left turn.
    4. descending right turn.

TRUE OR FALSE

12. From reader Mark Barchenko: On a few jet transports, the auxiliary power unit (APU) in the tail cone is used to generate thrust to improve takeoff performance.
13. When Cal Rodgers made the first flight across the United States in 1911, he did not object to the noise because he was deaf.
14. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was the first airplane equipped with checklists for use by its pilots.

ANSWERS

1. The ZFW is the most that an airplane is allowed to weigh excluding fuel. It prevents too high a concentration of weight in the fuselage (payload) that could cause the wings to flex upward excessively and jeopardize the integrity of the wing-root structure.
2. Spray, sand, dust, and volcanic ash.
3. The 330 to 500 dimples are loosely analogous to vortex generators and cause the airflow to adhere to (or hug) more of the ball before airflow separation occurs. This results in less wake turbulence behind the ball and, therefore, less drag. Anybody ever build a dimpled wing?
4. The F indicates that the engine is equipped with FADEC, a full authority digital engine control.
5. Advection fog, steam fog, radiation fog.
6. "I fear that all we have accomplished is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." (There are slight variations of this now-famous quotation.)
7. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), but he apparently did not put his theory to the ultimate test.
8. Detect that a change has occurred, estimate the need to counter or react to the change, choose a desirable outcome, identify actions that could be employed, do the necessary action, and evaluate the effect of the action.
9. (c) This incredible record was established by Francesco Agello in a Macchi-Castoldi MC-72 on October 23, 1934. The floatplane had a pair of 1,500-hp Fiat engines installed in tandem.
10. (d) The single-engine Fokker Universal was certified in June 1927 and powered by a 200-hp Wright Whirlwind radial engine. The pilot sat in an open cockpit forward of the high wing's leading edge. Four to six passengers sat in a closed cabin under the wing.
11. (a) The error usually is at a maximum following a 180-degree turn and at a minimum after a 360-degree turn.
12. False. An auxiliary power and thrust unit (APTU) was considered by Boeing for the heavier versions of its Boeing 777. The advent of more powerful engines made this unnecessary.
13. True. Depending on the source, Rodgers was considered "deaf," "almost totally deaf," "born a deaf mute," "virtually deaf," and "totally deaf."
14. True. The checklists were a result of an accident on October 31, 1935, that was caused by a test pilot forgetting to release the elevator lock before takeoff in a Boeing 299, which became better known as the B-17.

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