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Week of 6/2/97:
Q:
The White Knuckle Air Cargo Service has issued a request for proposals for
a new cargo aircraft. Here's an excerpt from the mission requirements
section: "...The aircraft shall have a cruising speed of not less than
Mach 0.7, shall be able to carry a payload of not less than ten thousand
pounds, and shall have a design range of not less than fifteen thousand
miles...." Is there anything wrong with any of these requirements?
A:
One half of the mean Earth circumference is 12450 statute miles.
Ignoring "no-fly zone" political issues, there's no reason
to build a cargo aircraft with a design range of fifteen thousand miles.
Congratulations to Arnie McCullers.
One more problem: the requirements also do not specify the use of Arnie's
Flight Optimization System aircraft analysis code!
- The Aeroquiz Editor.
Week of 6/9/97:
Q:
What piloted aircraft had no gear whatsoever for takeoff and landing
operations? These were conventional fixed-wing aircraft that had no
wheels, skids, skis, or flotation devices.
No correct answers! The question stands another week!
Week of 6/16/97:
Q:
What piloted aircraft had no gear whatsoever for takeoff and landing
operations? These were conventional fixed-wing aircraft that had no
wheels, skids, skis, or flotation devices.
A:
No one got the following (intended) answer:
In the early 1930s, the U.S. Navy became so confident at launching and
retrieving F9C-2 airplanes in flight from their dirigible ZRS-5 Macon,
their landing gear were removed completely. The aircraft were launched and
recovered in air using an overhead trapeze device.
Congratulations to Dan Shedd for coming close with
the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin, an aircraft which was also intended to be
launched and recovered with a trapeze device. The Goblin, however,
had an emergency retractable steel landing skid underneath the fuselage, and
its wingtips were protected by steel runners.
And congratulations to Arnie McCullers,
who correctly answered with small piloted gliders, like those used in
the D-Day invasion.
Week of 6/23/97:
Q:
When rising to the surface, a major concern of deep sea divers is
contracting the bends.
Do pilots ever need to be concerned with getting the bends?
No correct answers! The question stands another week!
Week of 6/30/97:
Q:
When rising to the surface, a major concern of deep sea divers is
contracting the bends.
Do pilots ever need to be concerned with getting the bends?
A:
Yes, Ask any ex-SR-71 pilot who may be around the office.
They needed to go through a process of N2 purging
prior to a mission. The "bends" is a direct result of
the reduction of external atmospheric pressure
resulting in nitrogen bubbles forming in the bloodstream.
Congratulations to Greg Engel.
Not only are the formation of nitrogen bubbles in a pilot's blood
a concern, but it isn't even the worst-case possibility. At very high
altitudes, the atmospheric pressure is so low that, without protection,
many liquids can boil at body temperature.
Pilots of the high-altitude U-2 spy plane, for example, wore the
MC-3 pressure suit, which has many of the properties of a spacesuit.
- The Aeroquiz Editor.
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