Test Pilot

1. From reader George Shanks: “I am a famed aircraft designer and founded a well-known airframe manufacturing firm. My cousin—who shares my family name—is a five-time nominee for an Academy Award and twice won an Oscar for best actress in a leading role. Who are we?”
2. True or false? A married female under 21 years of age who applied for a student pilot certificate in 1965 was required to provide the written consent of her husband.
3. From reader Eddie Ruhl: The American Volunteer Group—aka the Flying Tigers—was organized into three squadrons, the Adam and Eve Squadron, the Hell’s Angels Squadron, and the Panda Bear Squadron. Why was the first group called the Adam and Eve Squadron?
4. Every nation has sovereign control of its airspace, but to what altitude does this sovereignty extend?
5. What light twin had four throttles, two fixed-pitch propellers, a landing-gear switch for its fixed landing gear, and heel brakes?
6. Which state typically experiences the most days of thunderstorm activity during the three winter months?
7. Altocumulus lenticularis is commonly referred to as a lenticular cloud, and a cumulonimbus cloud is known as a thunderstorm. What is the common name for cirrus homogenitus?
8. True or false? The African eagle can swoop at more than 100 mph and aerodynamically brake to a halt in only 20 feet.

Test Pilot Answers

1. “I am Geoffrey de Havilland, and my famous cousin is actress Olivia de Havilland. She played a supporting role in Gone with the Wind and is among the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Classical Hollywood. Olivia received her first flying lessons from Howard Hughes.”
2. True. Her consenting husband, however, could be of any age.
3. Until World War II, what we now call fighter squadrons were called pursuit squadrons. The AVG had the first, second, and third pursuit squadrons, and the first pursuit of which we are aware involved Eve pursuing Adam (according to the squadron logo).
4. According to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, sovereignty ends where outer space begins. This is generally regarded to be 100 km (328,000 feet) msl—the Kármán line—above which the control surfaces of an aircraft are considered ineffective.
5. The 1963 Champion 402 Lancer was essentially an Aeronca Champ with two 100-horsepower engines. Because the pilots sat in tandem, each had to have his own pair of throttles. The gear switch and associated gear lights were used to help pilots develop the habit of raising and lowering the landing gear when flying advanced airplanes.
6. Louisiana averages at least 10 days of thunderstorm activity during the winter. Florida is the thunderstorm leader during the summer, when it averages more than 50 days of activity.
7. It is a condensation trail (contrail) that persists for at least 10 minutes. A homogenitus cloud is any artificial cloud induced by human activity.
8. True. Imagine the deceleration required to land an airplane at 100 mph and then brake to a stop in only 20 feet and in only one-third of a second.