Test Pilot

GENERAL

1. Arrange the following alphabetically listed aircraft in the order in which they have right-of-way according to Part 91 of the FARs: airplane, airplane towing a glider, balloon, blimp, glider, and helicopter.
2. According to the FAA's Aviation Weather, the minimum wind speed of a jet stream is _____ knots, and the minimum sustained wind speed within a hurricane (typhoon) is ____ knots.
3. Can you estimate within 10 knots the highest surface wind ever recorded anywhere (and not associated with a tornado)?
4. Why did the Lockheed Constellation have three small vertical stabilizers instead of a single large one?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

5. A non-instrument-rated pilot needs to descend through a layer of cloud without the assistance of any gyroscopic instruments while referring only to a conventional compass to keep his wings level. The best magnetic heading to use for this purpose is
   1. north
   2. east
   3. south
   4. west
6. From reader Rob Edward: A relatively new symbol on sectional charts is a white dot contained within some symbols for airports with hard-surface runways. This represents the approximate location on the airport of
   1. the rotating beacon.
   2. the transient tiedown area.
   3. airport police or security, when available.
   4. none of the above
7. Which of the following does not belong?
   1. throwing chaff out of a window
   2. dropping a flare
   3. squawking 7600
   4. flying a triangular pattern

TRUE OR FALSE 

8. It is legal for an instrument-rated private pilot to take off in a single-engine airplane at night when the ceiling and visibility are zero.
9. The decision height for an ILS approach to Kennedy Airport is 13,510 feet.
10. If the nosewheel tire of a typical single-engine airplane is flat and the nosewheel strut is bottomed (it contains no air or hydraulic fluid), a rotating, two-blade propeller will scrape the ground.
11. From reader Irv Siegel: Prior to airspace reclassification, a VFR pilot experiencing two-way communications failure was allowed to enter an airport traffic area, circle the airport, and wait for a light signal that normally would clear him to land. The same is true of Class D airspace.

ANSWERS

1. balloon, glider, airplane towing glider, blimp, and helicopter or airplane. (Helicopters and airplanes have equal rights-of-way with respect to each other.)
2. 50, 65
3. A low-level jet stream of 201 knots (231 mph) was recorded at the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, on April 12, 1934, at an elevation of only 6,288 feet msl.
4. Howard Hughes told Lockheed that he would not purchase the Connie for TWA unless the aircraft would fit into the airline's existing hangars, which were not tall enough to accommodate a single vertical fin.
5. (c) On easterly and westerly headings, the compass errs because of pitch and airspeed changes. On northerly and southerly headings, it errs because of turning errors. When heading south, however, the compass moves in the proper direction as soon as the airplane begins to bank, which makes it the most suitable heading for maintaining a wings-level attitude.
6. (d) The dot shows the approximate location of a VOR, vortac, or VOR-DME.
7. (b) The other actions either were or are procedures to be used by a pilot in instrument conditions to notify a radar controller of two-way communications failure.
8. True. This proves that what is legal is not necessarily safe.
9. True. Kennedy Airport serves La Paz, Bolivia, which has an elevation of 13,310 feet msl (not to be confused with John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York).
10. False. The propellers of normal-, aerobatic-, and utility-category airplanes will clear the ground. Also, when all tires are inflated and the struts properly extended, the propeller will clear the ground by a minimum of 7 inches (according to FAR Part 23 certification requirements).
11. True. According to the AIM, the pilot should remain outside Class D airspace until determining traffic direction and flow. He may then join the traffic pattern and watch for a light signal.