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Saturday 21st November 2009
Brainteasers
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Brainteasers Interactive Quiz #70:
Mommy, Where Do Controllers Come From?

The art and science of air traffic control (ATC) began life in humble surroundings without exerting much control. Let's peak behind the FAA's historical curtain to see who pulled the early levers of aviation power.

INSTRUCTIONS: Answer the questions as best you can, then click on the "Score my quiz answers" button to see your score and read the explanations. If you don't like your score the first time around, you can change some of your answers and resubmit. To get the most out of this quiz, we suggest you keep trying until you get a perfect score.

NOTE: When more than one answer is true, only the most complete correct answer will be scored as correct.

1. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) was previously known as:
a. CAA (Civil Aeronautics Authority)
b. CAA (Civil Aeronautics Administration)
c. FAA (Federal Aviation Agency)
d. Bureau of Air Commerce
e. The Evil Empire
f. a, b, c, and d
2. The first U.S. air traffic controller was Archie League (don't dare argue this point; it's FAA gospel) who controlled traffic in the pattern by waving red and green flags. Where did Archie first control traffic?
a. San Francisco, California
b. St. Louis, Missouri
c. Newark, New Jersey
d. Cleveland, Ohio
3. Archie League's flag-waving skills were limited by height. Pilots had a tough time seeing him as he stood on the ground beside his wheelbarrow waving his flags. Also, at that elevation he couldn't scan the entire airfield, so control towers were built. When was the first radio-equipped control tower opened and where?
a. 1935, New York, New York
b. 1925, Newark, New Jersey
c. 1930, Cleveland, Ohio
d. 1940, Washington, D.C.
4. The first en route Centers were called airway traffic control stations (or Centers) and were privately run by the Airline Air Traffic Control Consortium. The first three Centers -- or stations --were in Newark, N. J., Chicago, Ill., and Cleveland, Ohio. Newark opened first. In what year did it begin operation?
a. 1925.
b. 1935.
c. 1936.
d. 1945.
5. Private ATC didn't work so well in 1935, so the Bureau of Air Commerce took over the Newark airway traffic control station -- and later Cleveland and Chicago -- beginning in what year?
a. 1936
b. 1938
c. 1940
d. 1942
6. Who was the first U.S. en route air traffic controller?
a. Robert Poli
b. Earl Ward
c. Earl Warren
d. Burt Ward
e. Scott Dunham
7. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., is named for the non-aviator who fired roughly 11,400 striking PATCO air traffic controllers. What year did the strike happen?
a. 1971
b. 1981
c. 1991
d. 1492
8. The "shrimp boat" was an early ATC device invented by J. V. Tighe. The shrimp boat depicted:
a. Aircraft position
b. Thunderstorm position
c. En route holding patterns
d. Nearest Red Lobster
9. Instrument ratings for U.S. civilian pilots were first required in what year?
a. 1926
b. 1936
c. 1946
d. 1956
10. The first U.S., civil, radar-equipped air traffic control tower was in what city?
a. Newark, New Jersey
b. New York City (Idlewild)
c. Cleveland, Ohio
d. Indianapolis, Indiana