Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. Almost everyone knows that an Air Force airplane carrying the president of the United States uses the call sign Air Force One. What is the call sign of an aircraft carrying the Pope?
2. A pilot flying a single-engine airplane equipped with an engine analyzer notices that the cylinder-head and exhaust-gas temperatures for all cylinders are gradually decreasing. What are the two most likely causes?
3. Excessive forward stick (or wheel) pressure, relatively low airspeed, a nose-high attitude, mushy controls, and quietness are indicative of _______.
4. Paraphrasing a famous American, "Some pilots are weatherwise, but most are otherwise." Who was this American?
5. From reader John Tiller: Fowler flaps were invented by Harland D. Fowler during the 1920s. Split flaps were invented by what well-known designer? (It was not a man or woman named Split.)
6. From reader Tony Carcione: What was the first American fighter aircraft to achieve 400 mph in straight-and-level flight?
7. What made Charles Furnas unique?
8. From reader Catherine Cavagnaro: During the certification of a light single-engine airplane in the Normal category, it must be possible for the aircraft to recover from a spin of how many turns? What about aerobatic airplanes?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

9. From reader Richard Norris: What country incorporates a portrait of a pilot on one side of its currency and an inverted biplane on the other?
   1. Brazil
   2. Peru
   3. Romania
   4. Russia
10. A pilot arrives in Washington, D.C., for a friendly visit with the FAA but does not know the date. He does notice, however, that the tip of the shadow cast by the Washington Monument moves in a straight line during the course of the day. Which of the following is the approximate date? (One or more answers are correct.)
    1. March 21
    2. June 21
    3. September 21
    4. December 21
11. From reader Arnold Cohen: The first pilot awarded the [Congressional] Medal of Honor was
    1. Charles A. Lindbergh
    2. G. Raoul Lufbery
    3. Frank Luke
    4. Edward V. Rickenbacker

TRUE OR FALSE

12. From reader Mark Barchenko: The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flight team was named after a New York City nightclub.
13. SpaceShipOne's two historic space flights on September 29 and October 4, 2004, reached sufficient altitude to qualify its pilots, Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie, as astronauts, but neither flight achieved the altitude reached by Maj. Robert M. White on July 17, 1962, in the rocket-powered North American X-15.
14. From reader George Shanks: A hail pad is used to protect windshields (and radomes, when appropriate) when aircraft are tied down and exposed to the possibility of thunderstorms.

TEST PILOT ANSWERS

1. Shepherd One.
2. There is a decrease in airflow through the engine that indicates either carburetor/induction ice or a throttle creeping closed.
3. An inverted stall. If the stick was being held excessively aft, of course, a right-side-up stall would be indicated.
4. Benjamin Franklin originally said, "Some people are weatherwise, but most are otherwise."
5. Split flaps were invented jointly in 1920 by Orville Wright and J.M.H. Jacobs.
6. The first was the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The first U.S.-built single-engine fighter to do so was the Vought F4U Corsair.
7. He became the world's first airplane passenger when Wilbur Wright took him for a 29-second flight on May 14, 1908.
8. It must be possible to recover from a one-turn spin in a Normal category airplane and from a six-turn spin in an aerobatic airplane.
9. (b) Air Force Capt. Jose Abelardo Qui?ones Gonzales is a Peruvian war hero and is featured on the 10 nuevos soles bill (bank note).
10. (a, c) Shadow tip paths form straight lines on the equinoxes — the first days of spring and autumn — and they form lines of maximum curvature on the solstices — the first days of summer and winter.
11. (d) While alone on voluntary patrol over enemy lines during World War I, Rickenbacker disregarded the odds against him and attacked seven enemy aircraft (including five Fokkers) and shot down two. The medal was awarded to him by President Herbert Hoover in 1930.
12. True. The Blue Angel was originally on East 54th Street and was named after the 1931 film of the same name starring Marlene Dietrich.
13. False. The X-15 set an altitude mark of 314,750 feet, but SpaceShipOne achieved altitudes of 337,500 feet and 367,442 feet, respectively.
14. False. A hail pad is a few square feet of plastic foam in the shape of a square covered with aluminum foil and mounted securely on the ground so that it cannot be blown away. Strike marks made by hail are analyzed to further the study of hailstorm characteristics and dynamics.