Test Pilot
2. When an air traffic controller asks, “How do you read?” a pilot might be heard to reply colloquially with “five-by-five” or “five square.” What do these numbers specifically signify?
3. From reader Paul Raveling: Why did some pilots apply generous layers of whale grease to their faces?
4. Which of the following does not belong?
A. A
B. H
C. T
D. V
5. From reader John Schmidt: During the early 1970s, the Disney World Airport was adjacent to the Magic Kingdom and was served by the now-defunct Shawnee Airlines. The runway still exists at the theme park but is used as a backstage parking and storage lot. Why was it called “the singing runway”?
6. Weather in the United States is generally influenced by three types of air masses: cP, mP, and mT. Everything being typical, arrange these air masses in order of their moisture content, most humid first and driest last.
7. What can pilots do with respect to operating many Continental and Lycoming engines that will increase the factory-recommended TBO (time between overhaul) of these engines by 200 hours?
8. An Airbus A380 cruising at Flight Level 350 has a true heading of 360 degrees and an unspecified airspeed. The 100-knot crosswind at that altitude is from 270 degrees true. To an observer on the ground, the contrails appear to be aligned
A. to the east of north.
B. to the west of north.
C. to the north.
D. The answer cannot be determined from the information provided.
Test Pilot Answers
1. Francis Stanley “Gabby” Gabreski, also an ace during the Korean War, initially was unfamiliar with the gunsight on the North American F–86 Sabre and resorted to using available materials.
2. High readability and signal strength. A response of “one-by-three,” for example, signified “poor readability and moderate signal strength.” This aeronautically unofficial phraseology originated during the early days of radio communications. Today, “five-by-five” is synonymous with “loud and clear.”
3. When World War I pilots flew their open-cockpit fighters at high, frigid altitudes, they used the foul-smelling grease to protect their faces (especially their cheeks, lips, and tips of their noses) against frostbite.
4. A. There are H-tails (such as on a Twin Beech), T-tails, and V-tails, but there are not yet any A-tails.
5. The lateral grooves cut into the runway were designed to play the tune “When You Wish Upon a Star” (from the animated motion picture, Pinocchio) when airplane tires rolled across the grooves at 45 mph.
6. mT (maritime tropical), mP (maritime polar), and cP (continental Polar). Maritime air masses (m) originate over water and typically contain more moisture than continental air masses (c), which originate over land. Tropical air masses (T) are warmer than polar air masses (P) and usually contain more moisture.
7. They need to consistently operate their engines more than 40 hours per month.
8. C. The airplane and its contrails move together as a single unit within the westerly movement of air. The contrails will have the same direction as the heading of the airplane.
