Test Pilot

1. Some wristwatches are chronometers, and some are not. What is the difference?
2. Why is the registration number of U.S.-registered aircraft preceded with an N instead of some other letter (such as U)?
3. From reader George Shanks: What was the first flight instrument with which a fixed-wing airplane was equipped?
4. Which of the following single-engine airplanes have been converted into twins?
   A. Ercoupe
   B. North American Navion
   C. Piper Super Cub
   D. Piper Tri-Pacer
5. From reader John Schmidt: While filming the 1960 western Unforgiven, famed director—and pilot—John Huston had a dispute with actor Burt Lancaster. After learning that Lancaster was appearing in a celebrity golf tournament, what did Huston do to disrupt the game?
6. Name two things that are wrong with this statement: While in cruise flight at 25,000 feet during World War II, the P–51 pilot lit a cigarette and settled back to enjoy the flight.
7. Who said, “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it”?
   A. James “Jimmy” Doolittle
   B. Thomas Edison
   C. Henry Ford
   D. Wilbur Wright
8. True or false? A seaplane has been safely and intentionally flown faster than the speed of sound.

Test Pilot Answers

1. The difference is accuracy. For a watch to be called a chronometer, the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute must first certify that it is accurate to within +6/-4 seconds per day.
2. When an international convention met in Paris in 1919 to discuss national aircraft registration, the first flight across the Atlantic had just been completed by the American NC-4 flying boats. The popularity of these “N-boats” led to the selection of N for U.S.-registered aircraft.
3. The yaw string—or slip string—is attached outside the aircraft (most often on the front of the canopy of a glider) and aligns with the relative wind to display to a pilot the degree of aircraft sideslip. It was invented by Wilbur Wright and first used on the Wright brothers’ 1902 glider.
4. All of them. They were, respectively, the Erco Twin Ercoupe, the Riley Twin Navion, the Wagner/Piper Twin Cub, and the Wagner Twin Tri-Pacer.
5. Huston hired an aircraft to pour thousands of ping-pong balls on the tournament, many of which were inscribed with expletives relating to Lancaster. Unable to find their golf balls, tourney players had to postpone their game.
6. World War II fighters were not pressurized, requiring their pilots to wear an oxygen mask at such high altitudes. Also, there is insufficient oxygen at 25,000 feet for a cigarette to remain lit.
7. The correct answer is C. Henry Ford is credited with this motivational quotation.
8. True. The Convair XF2Y-1 Sea Dart was similar to the Convair F–102 Delta Dagger but was equipped with retractable water skis instead of wheels. It was the world’s only supersonic seaplane.