Test Pilot

1. Last March, President Donald J. Trump announced America’s first sixth-generation fighter aircraft, the F–47. What was America’s earliest first-generation fighter?
2. Who were Allen and Malcolm Loughead?
3. From reader Mike Moore: Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger) was licensed to fly
1. an airplane.
2. a gyroplane.
3. a helicopter.
4. none of the above.
4. Which one of the following does not belong?
1. Cessna 100
2. Cessna 162
3. Cessna 165
4. Cessna 305
5. From reader Jerry Griggs: True or false? When purchasing a new Taylor J–2 Cub, predecessor of the Piper J–3 Cub, in 1938, the airspeed indicator and magnetic compass were considered optional instruments but could be added for $30 and $25, respectively.
6. PST, MST, CST, and EST represent the four standard time zones in the contiguous United States. PDT, MDT, CDT, and EDT obviously refer to daylight-saving time. What did PWT, MWT, CWT, and EWT represent?
7. From reader George Shanks: How did hurricanes and cyclones come to be given human names?
8. What did pilot Alvin M. Johnston do with an airplane on August 7, 1955, that pilots still talk about today?

Test Pilot Answers

1. Generations of fighters apply only to jet-powered aircraft. America’s earliest first-generation fighter was the Lockheed P–80 Shooting Star.
2. Tired of having their Scottish name mispronounced as “Loghead,” the brothers changed their surname to Lockheed. The rest is history.
3. The correct answer is C. According to the Catholic News Agency, he had a “pilot’s license for the papal helicopter,” which most often is an AgustaWestland AW139.
4. The correct answer is A. There is no such thing as a Cessna 100, but Cessna did produce the others. The Cessna 162 is the Skycatcher; the Cessna 165 is the Airmaster; the Cessna 305 is the venerable Bird Dog.
5. True. The airplane came equipped with only three engine instruments and an altimeter. In those days, you could buy a spare Sensenich propeller for $30 and a spinner for $1.75.
6. Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern War Time. War time began on February 9, 1942, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt instituted year-round, daylight-saving time to save energy. Standard time resumed after the war.
7. A British meteorologist, Clement Wragge (1852–1922), appears to have begun the trend of naming cyclones after people, particularly politicians he didn’t like. This allowed him to say they were causing great harm or were wandering aimlessly.
8. Boeing Test Pilot Alvin “Tex” Johnston stunned those at the Seafair Gold Cup unlimited hydroplane race on Lake Washington (Seattle) by performing a complete roll in the Boeing Dash Eighty, precursor of the Boeing 707.