Test Pilot

1. From reader George Shanks: What is the world’s oldest airworthy aircraft?
2. Spell the name of Australia’s largest, most famous airline.
3. On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh became first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Who was second to do so?
4. An airport that is closed to VFR pilots because of low ceiling or visibility is said to be “socked in.” How did this expression originate?
5. On January 11, 1935, Amelia Earhart became the first pilot to make a solo flight from Hawaii to California. What unique modification was made to her single-engine Lockheed Vega 5B to improve survivability in case of a ditching?
6. To increase the likelihood that cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) and flight data recorders (FDRs) can survive an accident, they are built to withstand _____ Gs (in 6.5 milliseconds) and saltwater pressure equivalent to that found at an ocean depth of _____ feet.
   A. 1,700, 10,000
   B. 1,700, 20,000
   C. 3,400, 10,000
   D. 3,400, 20,000
7. True or false? The V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engine used in the North American P–51 Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire was named after the legendary wizard because of the seemingly magical manner that this engine enabled these aircraft to perform.
8. A prominent feature of the Spirit of St. Louis is a mast mounted on top of the fuselage behind the wing. It supports a set of small cups that spun in the relative wind during flight. This device was used to
   A. determine magnetic heading.
   B. generate electrical power.
   C. measure indicated airspeed.
   D. provide wind and drift information.

Test Pilot Answers

1. A 1909 Blériot XI, the type used by Louis Blériot in 1909 to make the first flight across the English Channel. It was rebuilt by and is part of the Shuttleworth Collection in Old Warden, Bedfordshire. Its flights are limited to short hops barely above the grass.
2. There is no “u” in Qantas Airways. Qantas is an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territories Aerial Services.
3. Amelia Earhart flew solo from Newfoundland to Ireland, landing five years later to the day.
4. “Socked in” was originally “sock in” and was first used in early French aviation. During inclement weather, the windsock was removed from its mast and taken indoors to indicate that the field was closed.
5. Earhart wrote in the May 1935 edition of National Geographic, “I had dump valves [installed] in the two largest fuselage tanks, which permitted almost instant evacuation of the contents. Empty, these alone had considerable buoyancy—added to that of any wing tanks from which fuel had been used.”
6. The correct answer is D. Flight recorders also must be capable of surviving a fuel fire of 2,000 degrees F for 30 minutes and a smoldering fire of 500 degrees F for 10 hours.
7. False. Rolls-Royce named its piston engines after birds of prey. A merlin is a small falcon. Other Rolls-Royce engines included the Peregrine, Kestrel, Vulture, Buzzard, and so forth. Rolls-Royce names its jet engines after British rivers.
8. The correct answer is A. The device is an earth inductor compass. It is essentially a wind-driven generator that was used to determine the angle between the longitudinal axis of the airplane and the Earth’s lines of magnetic force (flux).