Chapter 1 & 2 Study Questions

Question 1

In the first solo across the Atlantic in 1927, how did Charles Linbergh keep control of the airplane while flying in clouds and darkness?

Answer 1

His instrument panel was equipped with a turn-and-bank indicator and a earth inductor compass

Question 2

NAme three instruments used by the Wright Brothers in their first flight that marked the beginning of what would become “avionics”

Answer 2

Wind Speed (anemometer)
Stopwatch
Prop Counter (RPM)

Question 3

What generated power for Linbergh’s earth inductor compass?

Answer 3

A wind-driven anemometer atop the fuselage

Question 4

Why do airplanes consider the following systems part of “avionics”: air conditioning, fire detection, landing gear?

Answer 4

Engineers began using semiconductors to replace section of the mechanical and hydraulic systems. Thin wires are now being used to carrying multiple messages to electronic actuators replacing the commonly used hydraulic lines and control cables.

Question 5

What technology was widely adopted in aviation to reduce size and weight, as well as provide greatly increased function?

Answer 5

Semiconductor microprocessor.

Question 6

What system, made possible by digital electronics, greatly reduces the problem of mid-air collision?

Answer 6

Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)

Question 7

What replaces early “steam gauges” in aircraft instrument panels?

Answer 7

CRT or flat panel LCD “glass cockpit” containing separate gauges.

Question 8

How can the function of an electronic instrument be easily changed?

Answer 8

Changing the plug on the back during installaion.

Question 9

What does “CNL”, which describes basic functions of avionics, stand for?

Answer 9

Communications, Navigations, and Surveillance.

Question 10

What does the term “FADEC” mean?

Answer 10

Full Authority Digital Engine Control

Question 11

Name the world body that deliberates future aviation technology?

Answer 11

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Question 12

What does the word ‘avionics’mean?

Answer 12

“Avionics” is a contraction of aircraft and electronics”

Question 13

Radio frequencies are measured in Hertz (Hz), after Heinrich Hertz. What was his contribution to communications?

Answer 13

In 1887 Hertz proved that electricity can be transmitted in electromagnetic waves, which travel at the speed of light and which possess many other properties of light. Hertz proved the theory by engineering instruments to transmit and receive radio pulses using experimental procedures that ruled out all other known wireless phenomena. The scientific unit of frequency – cycles per second – was named the “hertz” in his honor and his experiments with these electromagnetic waves led to the development of the wireless telegraph and the radio.

Question 14

What was the first system for marking cross-country airways? How was it limited?

Answer 14

Lighted beacons was placed every ten miles along a particular route that would allow pilots to see and navigate during the night. It was limited because the light could not penetrate overcast clouds, fog, or heavy snow.

Question 15

What was the first instrument to enable pilots to maintain control of an airplane without seeing outside the cockpit?

Answer 15

Turn-and-bank indicator

Question 16

What component led to the artificial horizon and autopilot? Name the developer of these early systems?

Answer 16

In 1914 Sperry Gyroscope invented a gyroscopic instrument which was a spinning wheel that remained stable even when the aircraft was performing a maneuver. This led to the creation of the turn-and-bank indicator. In 1929, slight alteration of the this invention led to the creation of the artificial horizon which was a instrument that allowed the pilot to see if the aircraft was banking or the rise/fall of the aircraft nose against the horizon.

Question 17

What type of transmitter sent the first radio message from an airplane to the ground?

Answer 17

A spark type transmitter by pilot James McCurdy flying over Brooklyn, N.Y in 1910.

Question 18

Who was the pioneer who flew the first instrument flight, sometimes known as “blind flying” in 1929?

Answer 18

In 1929 Jimmy Doolittle became the first pilot to take off, fly and land an airplane using instruments alone, without a view outside the cockpit.

Question 19

What was the first radio navigation system for guiding airplanes?

Answer 19

a ‘four-course radio range’ in 1928 where pilots had to listen with headsets for audio tones that got them “on the beam”

Question 20

What system in Air Traffic Control replaced position reports by voice?

Answer 20

ARINC

Question 21

In 1980, manufacturers began designing airlines without a third crew member. What avionics development made it possible?

Answer 21

Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) which automatically monitored engine parameters.