Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. In 1918, the U.S. Post Office Department issued a 24-cent airmail stamp, the first to portray an airplane. One sheet containing 100 of these stamps contained an error and resulted in some of the world's most valuable and famous stamps. What were the error and the type aircraft shown?
2. What was unique about the Beechcraft Model E33C Bonanza, the F33C Bonanza, and certain models of the Beechcraft Musketeer?
3. From reader Jeff Pardo: When an aircraft is equipped with dual airspeed indicators, why are their respective pitot tubes installed on opposite sides of the fuselage?
4. From reader Warren Baldwin: The prototype of one famous airliner had a single vertical stabilizer but was produced with three; the prototype of another had three vertical fins but was produced with one. Name these two famous airliners.
5. Who was Earl Dodge Osborne?
6. What famous sports personality used a Lear 35 to break an around-the-world speed record?
7. Business jets have either straight or swept wings. What business jet of the 1960s had wings that swept forward?
8. Why do single-engine Cessna aircraft with strut-braced wings manufactured after 1955 have their forward-facing fuel vents mounted immediately behind a wing strut?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

9. From the era of "coffee grinder" receivers and whistle-stop tuning, which of the following does not belong?
   1. Omnigator
   2. Omnihomer
   3. Omniplexer
   4. Simplexer
   5. Superhomer
10. The first aircraft accident attributable to structural icing occurred in
    1. 1897.
    2. 1907.
    3. 1917.
    4. 1927.
11. Who said, "If you would measure the heartbeat of a city, take the pulse of her airport?"
    1. Richard Bach
    2. James "Jimmy" Doolittle
    3. Charles Lindbergh
    4. William "Billy" Mitchell

TRUE OR FALSE

12. One reason that metal propellers are more popular than wood propellers is that they are less sensitive to engine vibration and provide a smoother ride.
13. Actor James Stewart enlisted in the Army Air Force as a private during World War II and retired from the Air Force as a brigadier general in the late 1950s.
14. There was a time when AOPA members were issued a Trans World Airlines courtesy card that assured them service and the use of maintenance facilities at most TWA airports.

ANSWERS

1. The airplane was a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny that was shown inverted when it should have been flying right side up. It is believed that 81 of these stamps have survived, and each is worth more than $100,000.
2. They are approved for aerobatics. The aerobatic Bonanza was manufactured during 1969 and 1970.
3. Certification regulations specify that they be far enough apart to preclude the possibility of one bird strike decommissioning both.
4. The first was the Boeing 314 "China Clipper," which was the world's largest civilian airplane. The second was the Douglas DC-4. The Lockheed Constellation was designed with three vertical stabilizers.
5. If you recognize the initials, you might realize that he founded the Edo (Aircraft) Corporation, which at one time was the world's largest manufacturer of seaplane floats.
6. Arnold Palmer's globe-girdling flight in 1976 (from Denver to Denver) took 57 hours, 25 minutes, 42 seconds.
7. The German HFB 320 Hansa Jet.
8. The strut acts like an inertial separator to help prevent water droplets, snow, and ice crystals from entering the vent and contaminating fuel in the tank.
9. (b) The other four were radios manufactured by Narco (the National Aeronautical Corporation) and touted by their fictitious spokeswoman, Nancy Narco.
10. (a) Swedish engineer Salomon Andre and a crew of two attempted to reach the North Pole by balloon in 1897. Structural icing forced them down 240 miles north of Danskya, Norway.
11. (d) Gen. Mitchell was a famous and controversial champion of American air power and an outspoken advocate of aviation in general.
12. False. Wood dampens engine-induced vibrations by several magnitudes better than metal.
13. True. As a bomber pilot, Stewart led more than 20 missions over Germany and took part in hundreds of air strikes during his tour of duty. He earned an Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre, and seven Battle Stars.
14. True. That was in 1946 and for several years thereafter. Membership dues were $5 per year and AOPA headquarters were in Washington, D.C.

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