Test Pilot

1. How did the popular, two-place Ercoupe get its name?
2. In fighter-pilot parlance, “tally-ho” means that enemy aircraft have been sighted. It is colloquially used in civil aviation to mean that traffic is in sight. What is the source of this expression?
3. From reader George Shanks: The earliest form of two-way communication between airplane pilots and ground personnel consisted of
1. light signals.
2. Morse code.
3. voice communication.
4. dropping notes.
4. Why did British pilots during World War II strive to avoid an encounter with a “Chase-me-Charlie?”
5. From reader Brian Schiff: How is it possible to fly from a true heading of north to a true heading of south without passing through a heading of either east or west?
6. True or false? The year 1010 was the first year in which a man flew for some distance with the aid of wings.
7. From reader Jerry Griggs: The Hucks Starter was invented by Bentfield Hucks, was used during the 1920s and 1930s, and was far safer than swinging a propeller by hand to start an engine. But what was a Hucks Starter?
8. True or false? The first aircraft to land on the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado was not a helicopter.

Answers

1. The name Ercoupe originated from Engineering and Research Company (ERCO), the original manufacturer of the airplane.

2. Tally-ho is shouted during foxhunting (primarily a British sport) when the huntsman sees the fox.
3. The correct answer is B. The first air-ground communication was achieved through two-way aerial telegraphy in 1912. Pilots used a leg-mounted Morse key. AT&T developed the first air-to-ground voice transmitter in 1917.
4. “Chase-me-Charlie” was British slang for a remote-controlled German glider with an explosive load and a rocket booster.
5. Simply execute a half loop followed by a 180-degree roll. This maneuver is called an Immelmann turn, named after the German World War I ace, Max Immelmann.
6. True. History claims that Eilmer of Malmesbury, a Benedictine monk, jumped from Malmesbury Abbey and “alighted 125 paces before falling and breaking his legs.”
7. The Hucks Starter usually consisted of a Ford Model T truck frame modified with an overhead shaft that fit into the hub of an airplane’s propeller. The truck’s engine powered the shaft which spun the propeller. To see one in action, go to YouTube and search for “Hucks Starter and DH4.”
8. False. It was a helicopter. The two-place, piston-powered Cessna CH-1 Skyhook landed there on September 13, 1955.