Aircraft Trivia Quiz

Since no one has contributed a question for a while, which post-war supersonic aircraft had a unique ejection saet system that usually meant the pilot got killed when he needed it the most, especially at low altitude, which gave it a poor safety record?

Tom T

Didn't mean to make this hard.  The answer is a free wing aircraft.  Free wing aircraft have the mainwing hinged so that it picks it's own angle of attack.  On high wing aircraft the fuselage hangs like a trapeze from a point about 1/3 the chord from the leading adge.  On mid and low wing aircraft each wing is hinged to pivot independently.

This type of arrangement results in a plane that takes off, flies and lands at the same speed.  Since the wing can't bank or be forced to bank it also can't spin or stall.  To climb you give the plane more throttle, to drop give it less.  Should the engine die the aircraft will automatically come down at it's optimum glide angle and speed.

I was fortunate to get a ride in one of these at EAA Oshkosh in '96.  It was a converted Cesna 172 powered by a turbocharged Chevy aluminum bock LS1.  The only controls were the rudder pedals, throttle and fuselage trim.  It gave the smoothest ride of any plane I have ever been in but I never got used to seeing the wing pivoting up and down through as much as 60 degrees.  It would even climb in a downdraft as the wing would pivot up into the down rushing air and provide lift.

The plane's speed was 90 knots including landing which was a little off-putting.  Other downfalls to this design is that the plane can't dive and the maneuvers are extremely slow.  If you have to get down on the groung in a hurry you're in trouble as the plane can't be forced.  Some examples are in the following link:    http://www.freewing.com/freebird.html.

                                                                                           Pat.

Some of the para sails and gliders are forms of this type of aircraft.  Clue:  The movable flight surface on this class of aircraft is not  "captured" in a "fixed" position.

                                                                                       Pat.

Taking a wild guess, para-sails or para-gliders? The giant fans strapped to parachutes. And they control by moving the entire "wing" so to speak?

again, just a wild guess

While it is true that some aircraft of this class are ultralights, some are the size of Cesna 172's and do require a pilots license.  Hint:  They have a movable flight surface that no other class has.

                                                                                                   Pat.

Ultra-light sport class, different from others: no pilot's license needed

If it's my turn I'll give it a go.  Forgive me if this has been asked before:  This overall type of aircraft takes off, flies and lands at the same speed.  In it's purest form it only has two controls, throttle and rudder.  What type of class is it and what makes it different from other winged aircraft?

                                                                                     Pat.

Yes, the Nortrop F-20 Tigershark.

With regards to the "bonus", I was thinking about the Honeywell AN/ASN-144 Inertial Navigation Set, which used a ring laser gyroscope, it could align in 22 seconds in comparison to minutes for a (then) conventional gyroscope.

F-20 Tigershark with built in APU for quick starting?

                                                                                           Pat.

More clues or just a promp needed?

Cheers.

This privately funded high performance aircraft ultimately never made it into production, even although it was a superior aircraft to it's contemporaries. it was designed to be easy to maintain & more reliable than anything similar that was available at the time & only one example remains?

For the "bonus point" (as well as some further clues);

Exactly what did this A/C have that allowed it to be airborne at some considerable speed & distance from base before the "competition" had even got close to leaving the runway?

Excellent.  A true Konkordskie expert. :)

Over to you then.

Rich

First flight 31/12/68,

Supersonic 05/06/69,

Mach 2 + 15/07/69

707

See.  I told you it was an easy one. :)  Do you know the date it first flew?

Milairjunkie

This one;

Here is a better pic;

OK, OK, it's the one in front here;

The Tu-144

This one;

Here is a better pic;

OK, OK, it's the one in front here;

The Tu-144

Nope. :)

Rich

The Concorde?

Brian 

Nope.  I think it's at least comatose.   Here's a quick and easy one.

What was the first commercial transport to fly faster than the speed of sound.  Bonus if you can give the date of the first flight,

Hint:  It was also the first supersonic transport to pass the Mach 2 milestone.

This is a really easy one just to get the thread going again.

Rich

Has this thread died, or have I been missing posts?

Brian

Yes, Stick, basically the USAF officially does not with to see itself as a ground warfare tactical support service, but essentially as a stratigic/air intercept outfit only. The general sentiment is that the Army should be  handling that kind of thing with planes and pilots of their own, which now probably gives some Army folks regret for granting the USAAF its independence after WWII.

Tom T

Correct Sparrow. A throwback to an earlier era of design: Straight wings, exposed wheels when retracted for belly landings, and twin tails. No fancy avionics. Designed for a specific purpose, battlefield close air support, particularly, anti armor with a big gun. But it has also taken over the forward air controller role with the OA-10 variant, as well as Combat Search and Rescue escort a la Sandy of Vietnam. Rumors circulate of how the Air Force brass wants to get rid of it and replace it with faster "sexier"fighters (which do not have its' unique capabilities).

Your up Sparrow.

Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt?

Semi contemporary with the Harrier, but nowhere near as revolutionary. Unlike the U-2, which has its' roots in design with the F-104, this aircraft was a design with no such linkage. But it is a gas passer like both of these.

Harrier?

Brian 

U-2?

This will probably be an easy one. This aircraft is a throwback to an earlier era in design and construction. It is one of a handful of aircraft designed for a very specific purpose. It has seen combat on several occasions and in its designed role has excelled. Combat usage has evolved with time. Rumor has it that the parent service hierarchy does not want this aircraft.

The J-35 it is....the subscale prototype copied the double-delta wing shape but was so small that the canopy had to be this awkward looking bubble to make enough room for the pilot.  As far as I have seen, just about every one of the civilian-owned ones are in America....but I have never seen one fly. 

Interesting note--maybe someone here knows about this.  Back around 2000 or 2001, I was in Wichita, KS, and there is an airport on the northeast end of the city.  It's called Jabara Airport.  A small field, with some biz jets and the like there.  But there was one very interesting aircraft on the tarmac one time I drove by, and so I had to make a U-turn to check it out.  It was in fact a Saab J-35, painted (if I recall right) white.  It looked like it was going to be used for some sort of publicity flight or record attempt or something.  I never heard anything again about this plane.  Does anyone have any info? 

EDIT--found a pic anyways....it was a TF-35 two-seater, and you can see what was done to the rear canopy.  This was on the flightline at the airport....the only details I can find are that the plane was crashed during a landing attempt due to lack of fuel in I think 1998, in California.  It was written off from there, and a group called Air Capitol Warbirds bought it--they had a hangar at that airport.  Apparently, the plane didnt get any attention when they tried to sell it, so it was painted like you see in this pic:

http://www.milfly.dk/wp-content/uploads/SRX-77-3May02_psni_1kweb.jpg

Seems that it was somehow used to advertise the Sony SRX-77 computer.....although I dont see the word Sony anywhere on it.  I do believe that from here, it was sold to someone out west to be used as a source of spares for someone else's J35. 

How about the Saab J-35 Draken/Dragon?

No movement. 'Go fly a ...' or 'How to tame a ...' might help.

Best wishes,

Grant