Pilot September 2017

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

‘Air brained’ is largely about promoting safety,

so we are proud to be sponsored by Airbox,

makers of RunwayHD. The winner will be the

sender of the first correct answer drawn at

random from all entries submitted to

[email protected] by the closing date,

2 September 2017. Emails must have

‘September Air Brained’ entered as their subject

and include the sender’s postal address for

shipping. No multiple entries please. The answer

to Q10 will appear in next month’s ‘Air Brained’.

State ‘no contact’ in the address line of your email

if you do not wish to receive information via email

from Pilot, the publishers of Pilot or Airbox

Aerospace Ltd.

WIN!

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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