Answers
September 2017 | Quiz
How air-brained are you?
By James Allan
1
If the angle of attack of the wing of a
light aircraft remains constant, what
happens to the drag of the said
aircraft when its airspeed is increased
from 85kt to 170kt?
a it reduces by 12.5%
b it remains unchanged
c it increases by 50%
d it increases by 100%
e it is quadrupled
b height of the base of the lowest visible layer
of cloud that covers eight oktas
c height of the base of the lowest layer of
cloud which covers more than half the sky
(four oktas) and which is lower than 6,000
metres (20,000ft)
d height of the base of the lowest layer of
cloud which covers more than six oktas and
which is lower than 6,000ft.
4
You are climbing at full power,
heading in an easterly direction
and see that the magnetic compass
is reading exactly 100°. Which of these
could be your actual magnetic course?
a 093° b 105°
c 112° d 118°
5
In the ICAO Standard Atmosphere
freezing level is 7,500 feet. The
actual freezing level, of course, is
usually different from that figure. In which
of these months does the actual freezing
level in the skies over Europe most
frequently exceed 7,500 feet?
a April b June
c August d October
6
If a 30 to 40-year-
old pilot is of
average build and
reasonably fit, at what
g-force will the
phenomenon of ‘blacking-
out’ first become
perceptible to him or her?
a 2g b 3g
c 4g d 5g
e 6g
7
Which of the following operate
on frequencies that are within
the VHF aviation band?
a DME b ILS
c PAR d GPS
e NDB
8
The first Victoria Crosses
awarded to RAF aircrew during
WWII were conferred
posthumously on Fg Off Donald Garland
and Sgt Thomas Gray of 12 Squadron
RAF. Which of these types of aircraft
were they flying?
a Bristol Blenheim
b Vickers-Armstrong Wellington
c Fairey Battle
d Westland Lysander
9
Which of the following factors
affect the power output of a
piston aero-engine?
a air temperature
b barometric pressure
c airspeed
d atmospheric humidity
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2 September 2017. Emails must have
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10
Into which of these types of UK
airspace is the pilot flying a light
aircraft under VFR not permitted to
enter without prior clearance?
a ATZ
b HIRTA
c AIAA
d CTA Class D
http://www.pilotweb.aero Pilot September 2017 | 89
e 1
The Prince had two d 2
Leonides radial Alvis
engines; the Princess
was powered by ten
Bristol Proteus
turbo-prop engines
(four coupled pairs and
two single units)
The ICAO definition c 3
of ‘ceiling’ is the height
above the ground or
water of the base of the
lowest layer of cloud
below 6,000m
(20,000ft) covering
more than half the sky.
Operationally a ‘ceiling’
is assumed to be
interpreted as the
lowest reported
occurrence of BKN or
OVC in a meteorological
report
The other answers a 4
must be wrong because
in an aircraft climbing in
an easterly direction
the magnetic compass
always indicates a
course greater than
that actually being
steered
Freezing level c 5
sometimes goes above
10,000feet
And remember, in a b 6
70° bank angle steep
turn g-force reaches 3g
b 7
Five Fairey Battles c 8
made an attack on 12
May 1940 on a bridge
across the Albert Canal
near Maastricht. Only
one returned
d&b , a 9
c 10 issue: August
was July’s winner
Tetney of Colin Childs
2
The 1952 Saunders-Roe SR.45
Princess G-ALUN shown here was
the largest metal flying boat ever to
fly. (Howard Hughes’s HK1 Hercules, as its
‘Spruce Goose’ nickname suggests, was
built largely of wood.) An approximate
contemporary of the Princess was the
Percival Prince. Comparing the two, how
many more engines than the Prince did the
Princess have?
a two b four
c six d eight
3
Meteorologically speaking, what is
the ‘ceiling’ at an aerodrome?
a height of the base of lowest cloud
of any description that is within 10nm of the
airfield