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Sunday 5th July 2009
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Brainteasers Interactive Quiz #43:
Name That Aircraft!

How well do you know the different types of airplanes that you see in the sky? Given a detailed description off an aircraft -- wingspan, cruising speed, number of engines, aerodynamic configuration, etc. -- can you figure out the aircraft type? If so, then you should do well on Irv Siegel's latest interactive quiz, which tests your ability to match the descriptions and parameters of different aircraft with their names.

by Irv Siegel

The information for this quiz was derived from A Field Guide to Airplanes (Second Edition) by M. R. Montgomery and Gerald Foster.

1. This biplane has a wingspan of 32' and a cruising speed of 201 mph (for
a. Beech 17 Staggerwing
b. Boeing/Stearman Kaydet
c. Waco Late C Series
d. Waco S Series and Early C Series
fixed landing gear, but virtually all of them still flying have the electrically
operated retractable gear. It was last produced in 1948. The U.S. Air Force
the most powerful versions with 450-horsepower engines). It was first flown with
version was called a C-43.

2. This low-wing fixed-gear taildragger is more common in Canada than in the
U.S. It has a wingspan of 34' 4" and a cruising speed of 124 mph. It has a
a. Aerospatiale (SOCATA) Rallye
b. Alon Aircoupe
built from 1946 to 1953.


c. Consolidated Vultee Valiant
d. deHavilland DHC1 Chipmunk
propeller spinner and is offset sharply to the port side of the aircraft. It was
short, two-pane greenhouse canopy and a large air intake that sits under the the
3. This aircraft is a low-wing single-engine retractable, with a wing span of
32' 11" and a cruising speed of 157 mph. The tail plane is mounted midway
a. Beech Bonanza A36
b. Bellanca Viking
c. Navion Rangemaster
d. North American Rockwell Commander
e. Piper PA24 Comanche
single, and gives the aircraft a look of being bulky forward and over the wing.


the tail plane. The interior cabin space is unusually wide for a four-passenger
up the tail fin. It has strong (seven-degree) dihedral in the wing and none in
4. This turbocharged and pressurized single-engine retractable has a wingspan
a. Piper PA46 Malibu
airplane and does not taper from the forward to the rear seats. The ratio of
b. SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
c. SOCATA TB 20/21 Trinidad
d. TBM 700
of 43' and cruises at 230 mph. The cabin is unusually large for a single-engine
wing length to width is 11 to 1.

5. This small, retractable, low-wing single-engine airplane has a wingspan of
29' 4" and a cruising speed of 140 mph. It has strong (eight-degree)
a. Bellanca Cruisemaster
b. Culver LCA Cadet
c. Mooney M18 Mite
d. Temco (Globe) Swift 125
dihedral in both the tail plane and wings, and a unique engine grill, like
fly today with much more powerful engines than the original 125 horsepower.


post-WWII airplanes to take advantage of the wind-tunnel-tested wing designs of
something from a 1950's General Motors automobile. It was one of the first
the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), precursor of NASA. Many
6. This warbird has a large, noisy, radial engine, a wingspan of 41', and
a. Chance Vought F-4U Corsair
b. Curtis P-40 Warhawk
c. Grumman TBF-1 Avenger
cruising speed of 350 mph. It has a one-man cockpit set halfway back on the
d. North American P-51 Mustang
fuselage. The wings drop down from the fuselage, then show sharp dihedral to
tip. Nicknamed "Whistling Death" by Japanese pilots.

7. This fat-cabined, thin-fuselaged amphibian has a wingspan of 37' 8",
a. Grumman G44 Widgeon
b. Lake LA-4 Buccaneer
c. Republic RC3 Seabee
d. TSC1 Teal
manufactured in a little over two years.


retract up to, but not into, the fuselage. 1080 of these aircraft were
taildragger, and the rear wheel stays down in flight as the two front wheels
with a pusher propeller mounted on the rear of the cabin. On land it's a
8. This small, low-wing twin has a wingspan of 37' 10", cruises at 195
a. Beech 50 Twin Bonanza
b. Beech 95 Travel Air
c. Cessna 310
d. Piper PA30 Twin Comanche
mph, and has a vertical tail fin, bulky nacelles, dihedral in wing but none in
the tail. The landing gear retracts completely, and it has a one-piece
windshield, and a triangular rear passenger window.

9" and a cruising speed of 420 mph, and wing tip-tanks. High overhead, you
a. Cessna Citation I
and the engine nacelle.


b. Beechjet 400A
c. Dassault Falcon 10
can distinguish these from Learjets by the gap between the wing trailing edge
d. Israel Aircraft Industries 1123 Westwind
9" and a cruising speed of 420 mph, and wing tip-tanks. High overhead, you
a. Cessna Citation I
and the engine nacelle.


b. Beechjet 400A
c. Dassault Falcon 10
can distinguish these from Learjets by the gap between the wing trailing edge
d. Israel Aircraft Industries 1123 Westwind
10. This aircraft has eight engines, a wingspan of 185', and a cruise speed
a. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
b. Lockheed C-130 Hercules
c. Lockheed P-3 Orion
d. Lockheed C-141A Starlifter
of 650 mph. More than 550 were built in the 1950s and early 1960s.