Easy like Sunday morning: Flights of fantasy

The Hindu Sunday quiz on ‘Flights of fantasy!’ by Berty Ashley

1. On this day in 1903, a single-seater biplane called ‘Flyer’, powered by a 12 HP engine, flew to 852 ft. But it was damaged on landing, after which, it never flew again. The craft was designed by two brothers, who worked with cycles and eventually, gliders. Who were these two gentlemen, who started off the era of aviation?

2. The 351 Stratolaunch is an aircraft built to carry air-launch-to-orbit rockets. It features a twin-fuselage design, and was subsequently repurposed to offer air launch hypersonic flight testing. To accommodate its size, a specially designed hangar was constructed in the Mojave Desert in California. What world record does this aircraft have, which is 385 ft compared to Boeing 747’s 220 ft?

3. The de Havilland DH. 106 Comet was the world’s first commercial jet airliner, and first flew in 1949. It had the now-classic aerodynamic design, and a pressurised cabin. But within a year of the airliner’s entry into service, three Comets were lost in highly publicised accidents due to structural failure. It was discovered that this was due to overstressing of the airframe, which was made up of right angles. This led to a change in a certain part of the aircraft, which was built to resemble that of an automobile. What change was this?

4. William E. ____ was the president of a timber company. In 1909, he saw a manned aircraft in the sky, and became fascinated with flying. The next year, he attended a flying meet, but none of the pilots would give him a ride on their planes. Annoyed, he took flying lessons, and purchased his own plane. He ended up starting the Pacific Aero Products Company, one of the largest aerospace manufacturers in the world. The company was renamed after him — how do we now know it?

5. In 1947, US Air Force officer Chuck Yeager became the first human to fly over the speed of sound. The aircraft, named ‘Bell X-1’, reached the speed of 1062 km/hr (Mach 1) on Oct 14, 1947. Two nights before the flight, Yeager had fallen off a horse and broken two ribs, due to which he had some difficulty closing the cockpit hatch. What finally helped him close it, which, ironically, is an item witches use for flying?

6. In the 1980s, American Airlines wanted to cut costs so that they could offer a cheaper service to beat their competition. They subsequently decided to reduce the number of a certain item from the salad they served on board. What item did they remove, which can be found in green or black, and saved them $40,000 per year?

7. The XF-84H was a turboprop aircraft with a supersonic propeller, which had the potential to set the air speed record for propeller-driven aircraft. Known as ‘Thunderscreech’, it travelled faster than the speed of sound, creating sonic booms that knocked out crew members, and gave people standing a kilometre away headaches. What dubious record did the aircraft end up setting?