Test Pilot April 2024

1. From reader Jerry Griggs: You are buckled in the passenger seat of an airplane and observe the pilot in command setting the transponder to squawk 1203. What is the meaning of this code?
   
   
2. The first airmail letter was written and mailed by
 
1. Benjamin Franklin.
2. Abraham Lincoln.
3. Theodore Roosevelt.
4. George Washington.
3. True or false? The 1903 Wright Flyer was equipped with an airspeed indicator.
 
4. Why did early pilots refer to their autopilots as Elmer?
 
5. From reader George Shanks: Why did a former fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force use the call sign Obi-2?
 
6. Waco and Aeronca are famous names in aviation. They also are acronyms. What do the letters in these names represent?
 
7. From reader John Schmidt: True or false. In some of the early two-place Luscombe airplanes, carburetor heat was required to be used during takeoff, and this had nothing to do with preventing carburetor ice.
 
8. From reader John Schmidt: True or false. In some of the early two-place Luscombe airplanes, carburetor heat was required to be used during takeoff, and this had nothing to do with preventing carburetor ice.
1. large circles.
2. large rectangles.
3. large squares.
4. strips or runways shaped as they are today.

Test Pilot Answers

1. Code 1203 is used by the lead aircraft in a VFR formation flight not in contact with air traffic control. Other aircraft in the formation should squawk standby.
2. The correct answer is D. President Washington gave the letter to Jean Pierre Blanchard who carried it on the first balloon flight in America. This was a 46-mile journey from Philadelphia to Gloucester County, New Jersey (circa 1795).
3. True (sort of). The Flyer was equipped with a Richard anemometer that indicated meters per second. Before takeoff it indicated wind speed,and when airborne, it indicated airspeed (also in meters per second).
4. The autopilot was invented by Elmer Sperry, who also invented the artificial horizon and directional gyro. His son, Lawrence, invented the first retractable landing gear (1915).
5. Red Arrow Pilot Colin McGregor’s younger brother, Ewan McGregor, played the role of the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Obi-2 is a play on Obi-Wan (one).
6. Weaver Aircraft COmpany and AERONautical Corporation of America.
7. True. When 85-horsepower engines replaced 65-horsepower engines, the fuel tank behind the pilot’s head wasn’t high enough to provide the gravity-fed fuel flow needed by the additional horsepower. Carb heat was applied during takeoff to reduce power and the amount of fuel that would be required.
8. The correct answer is A. Circular landing areas ensured that a pilot could always land into the wind. This was critical when flying early aircraft because they had limited crosswind capability. The windsock was often at the center of the circle (and likely got clipped on occasion).