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Multidisciplinary
Design, Analysis, and
Optimization Branch
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EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES: THE NASA AEROQUIZ
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Week of 6/1/98:
Q:
When it comes to the excitement of speed, loops, and high-gee barrel
rolls, few things can match the thrill of flying in a high-performance
airplane. But Charles Lindbergh, who was no stranger to daring flying,
once remarked, "The thrill of [this] beats the thrill of flying." He was
talking about something that gave thrills that were somewhat similar to flying.
What was it?
A:
I think the answer to the question is "a roller coaster".
That is what is close to the thrill of flying.
Congratulations to "Stephen."
Lindbergh was talking about the Coney Island Cyclone. Built in 1927, it set
the standard for classic wooden-rail roller coasters. There are other
cues taken from aeronautics in roller coaster design: energy management,
extensive "pre-flight" checkouts, and many coaster trajectories
imitate classic barnstorming maneuvers.
- The Aeroquiz Editor.
Week of 6/8/98:
Q:
North Carolina's license plate motto is "First in Flight." Ohio's new
license plate motto is "Birthplace of Aviation." Can both be right?
A:
Yes, both mottos can be correct. The Wrights were from Dayton, Ohio,
and much of their work was done there. However, their first test flights
took place at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina.
Congratulations to Daniel Miller.
Week of 6/15/98:
Q:
There is a little-known connection between the Hughes Aircraft
Company and Harley-Davidson. What is it?
A:
The connection is via a mutual employee. Joe Petralli, well-known
throughout the '20s and '30s for his dirt track, board track, hill climbing,
and beach racing motorcycle exploits, won five National Dirt Track
Championships for Harley between 1931 and 1936. Harley-Davidson worked
closely with Petralli, a self-taught engineer and bike builder, while
supporting motorsports. By 1938, he had quit his racing career with the
Motor Company and landed a job as Howard Hughes' personal assistant.
Petralli later became the flight engineer aboard the Spruce Goose, sitting
behind Hughes in the pilot's seat as it made its first and only flight in
1947.
No one got the correct answer!
- The Aeroquiz Editor
Week of 6/22/98:
Q:
Sometimes at an airport, a "FOD Patrol" is seen walking around the
runways. Who are they and what are they doing?
A:
FOD is short for Foreign Object Damage.
These individuals are trying to find small, potentially
damaging objects such as screws, nuts, etc
that might be ingested into a jet engine causing
serious damage possibly even an engine shutdown.
The US Navy practices FOD walkdowns onboard their aircraft
carriers as well as shore facilities.
Congratulations to Dan Shedd.
Week of 6/29/98:
Q:
"Even considering the improvements possible ... the gas turbine [engine]
could hardly be considered a feasible application to airplanes mainly because
of the difficulty with the stringent weight requirements." This quote surely
had to be written many decades before the first jet airplanes flew, and surely
by someone of limited foresight. Or was it?
A:
This historical quotation is from a report by the Gas Turbine Committee
of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. It was written by a prestigious
panel of scientists, including Dr. Theodore von Karman, in 1940 -- after
the first flight of the German Heinkel 178 jet on August 27, 1939.
No one got the correct answer!
- The Aeroquiz Editor
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