1. Pilots know that stall speed is reduced when placing an airplane with wing flaps and retractable landing gear in the landing configuration. Why does lowering the landing gear reduce stall speed?
2. True or false? On April 3, 1844, a prestigious newspaper, The New York Sun, carried the astounding news that the Atlantic Ocean had been crossed by air in three days. This story—called the greatest air hoax ever known—was perpetrated by Edgar Allan Poe.
3. From reader John Schmidt: Drones obviously can be used maliciously or carelessly. The Dutch National Police were the first to develop and demonstrate an effective nature-based system that guards against and eliminates rogue drones without risking the safety of those on the ground. What is the nature of this system?
4. Many aircraft, including early model Beech Bonanzas, were equipped with wobble pumps. What is a wobble pump?
5. What is the world’s largest propeller-driven airplane?
6. What is the most common reason for a gear-up landing?
7. “On July 22, 1926, I was at an airport on Long Island wearing an army uniform. This is when I attempted to catch a baseball dropped from an airplane passing overhead at 80 mph. I failed the first six times but succeeded on the seventh and became the first person ever to catch a baseball dropped from an airplane. Who am I?”
8. Beechcraft’s first V-tailed airplane was the
A. Model 35 Bonanza.
B. Model 35A Bonanza.
C. Model V35 Bonanza.
D. None of the above.
Test Pilot Answers
1. Lowering the landing gear in some airplanes alters local airflow such that some of the air that normally would flow under the wing is “blocked” by the main landing gear and forced to flow over the wing. This can reduce stall speed slightly.
2. True. Arriving in New York nearly penniless and with a sick wife, Poe concocted the story and sold it to The Sun to raise needed funds.
3. The Dutch police are training eagles from birth to identify drones from as far away as two miles, snatch them in flight, and bring them down safely.
4. A wobble pump is a fuel or hydraulic pump that is manually operated with a handle (like an old-fashioned water pump). If the engine-driven fuel pump of a 1947 Beech Bonanza were to fail, for example, the pilot would have to hand-pump fuel to the engine until safely on the ground.
5. The Soviet Antonov An–22 is a military transport that first flew in 1965, is still in service, and is powered by four turboprop engines—each driving a pair of contrarotating propellers. It has a wingspan of 211 feet, is 190 feet long, and has a maximum gross weight of 551,160 pounds. A video of this unusual aircraft can be seen online (http://digg.com/video/biggest-propeller-plane).
6. Water landings in amphibians. (Sorry about that.)
7. Babe Ruth, a.k.a. the Great Bambino, a.k.a. the Sultan of Swat. He wore the uniform as part of a promotion for the U.S. Army.
8. D. The first was a V-tailed version of the Beechcraft AT–10 Wichita, a twin-engine, advanced trainer built for the military during World War II.
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