Aircraft Trivia Quiz

Loop the loop.

Bill, I looked at the Langley possibility, but so far as I can tell though he did use a track there was no thrust from it, just a track, so I think the Wrights can the first to use the catapult.  If it's not a man carrying airplane the old Leonardo would be the guy as I suspect he used his arm as a catapult.  Or, some unknown before him.

OK.  What did Thomas McGuire not do successfully that an Englishman was able to do successfully for the first time in an airplane in 1912.  No women were involved, it wasn't that.

jeaton01 wrote:

How bout Orv & Will?

Wish I could borrow your brain! I unsuccessfully tried to sneak an obvious one past. DANG!

Oroville and Wilbur is correct. Samual Langley would've been accepted, but the real, true answer has to do with the Wright Brothers, as Sam launched model aircraft with his until the full size "Aerodrome" was thrown into the Potomac river instead of launched into the air as intended.

In the question, "Airplane" implies a full sized, working aircraft. John Eaton was first to answer, besides.

NOW, It's you, who is now re-burdened with coming up with a question, John! You have my sympathies!

Who created the first catapult for the purpose of launching aircraft?

mojodoctor wrote:

Yup! You got it Trexx. I may not get to Reno this year, so if you go can you take lots of photos?   Whatcha got fer us?

Awww... Thought I wouldn't?! HA!

Roger Wilco on the Air Race photos!

OK... sorry for the delay. I've been in the midst of major-general deadline(s) at work.

Stand-by for question coming up real soon...

Yup!

You got it Trexx. I may not get to Reno this year, so if you go can you take lots of photos?

Whatcha got fer us?

F8F Grumman Bearcat -Lyle Shelton (?)

"Rare Bear"

I was there, Reno 1989 and witnessed the glory! 528 mile per hour in level flight! That airplane can get with the program!

Wow, I was right?

The funny thing is that I mentioned in the thread about the ICBM model that my father worked for Aerojet from 1960 to about 1993. How ironic!

Let's go for an easy one. What is the fastest piston powered, propellor driven airplane and who was the pilot?

Let's see how fast you guys can answer that one!

trexx wrote:

jeaton01 wrote: ...What was the first successful rescue flight that involved rocket power?  You must name the  rescue vehicle, extra points for getting the individual vehicle's name.   I'm a bit numb from racking my noggin! Hmmm. Maybe a merchant ship defended by a rocket catapulted Hawker Hurricane? I just dunno...

Here's Johnny come lately, what it took the better part of an hour to compose this post, and I'm not right anyways.

The Mariner G for George was lost in Antarctica in 1946 during Operation Highjump. Amply supplied, although three of the crew died in the accident, the rest were rescued by another Mariner and a concerted effort with launches, from the Pine Island. I do not know her call sign.

Here's a model I built about a year ago of the Pine Island, with a lot of PE, showing the recovery of a Mariner in Arctic waters. It's a good story, and hopefully the right one. Mariner operations were aided by the expense of bunker fuel onto the sea. JATO was the rule of the day for takeoffs.

I've a Mach 2 Mariner "in the stash", my heirs will chuckle over it at the funeral.

OK, Matt, you have the honors to everyone's cheers and relief.  Here is the story, from the March 1945 Martin house magazine, the Martin Star.  The rescue was on January 12, 1945.  There are many articles on the net on PBM's and also PBY's using JATO in late WW II, mostly for takeoffs in heavy seas, but it appears the PBM pioneered the use.  Aerojet in Southern California of course developed the JATO units, which were solid propellant rockets.

OK John we need a lifeline. Could you please answer one of the following:

year

Location

Your humble servant, LtCmr Bondo the p'rit

I've been rackin' my brain too, but to no avail.

How about some German general being saved at the last moment from an invading force in a RATO assisted transport?

Or, as has been previously mentioned, a sea rescue using an amphibious aircraft?

I know this is not "Twenty Questions", but it's getting a bit frustrating.

I can't find anything!

jeaton01 wrote:

...What was the first successful rescue flight that involved rocket power?  You must name the  rescue vehicle, extra points for getting the individual vehicle's name.

I'm a bit numb from racking my noggin! Hmmm. Maybe a merchant ship defended by a rocket catapulted Hawker Hurricane?

I just dunno...

• The rescue I look for predated the use of the B-17H or SB-17G, but I did enjoy reading your excerpt, a nice narrative.
  

http://home.att.net/~jbaugher2/b17_23.html 

As a large plane rolled over the sea the bottom seemed to drop away and come hurtling down. Three parachutes blossomed and the ditch bomber crew could see a boot hanging beneath the canopies. A rocket fired from the barrel, dragging out a funnel end of rope only seconds before the stem plunged into the water just a few yards away. The boat seemed to vanish beneath its own splash but as this cleared they could see the infated canopies at each end.
As the crew paddled towards the boat, a rocket with yellow lines zoomed out from each side, one floated within reach. Once aboard the boat the survivors found special clothing in a compartment beneath the deck.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/39/a2571239.shtml

I believe the boat would have been attached to the SB-17?

I can only figure some early sort of "tractor ejection" system (Stanley Yankee style), a seaplane using Rato of the back of a boat to carry out a rescue, or a flying boat such as a PB2Y-5 using RATO during a SAR mission?

If it isn't anything do do with these, I'm done!

I recon this is completley of the mark, but;

13/01/1943, German Pilot (Schenke) ejects from a He280 Salamander during a ferry flight?

This was on a Heinkel 162 "'Schleudersitz Heinkel-Kartusche'" seat?