AVweb Quiz #174: Single v. Twin

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Aug. 6, 2012

Interactive Quiz #174:
Single v. Twin

Within the privacy of our own hangars, many pilots envision ourselves with a fistful of throttles and a cheap cigar clamped in a DC-3 captain's grimace. Take your multi-engine fantasies to new heights by overpowering this quiz.

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. The answers are assumed to apply within the United States unless otherwise noted.

1. It's ironic -- but incredibly necessary -- that the multi-engine student spends a great deal of instruction time flying around on one engine. One-engine-inoperative (OEI) flight brings with it a bagful of new "V" speeds. Decode these three Vs: V_XSE, V_LOF, and V_MC. (Think light piston twin, maximum certificated takeoff weight of 6000 pounds or less.)
a. Best angle-of-climb speed with left engine inoperative, lift-off speed, and minimum control speed with the critical engine inoperative
b. Best rate-of-climb speed with one engine inoperative, lift-off speed, and minimum control speed with the critical engine inoperative
c. Best angle-of-climb speed with one engine inoperative, lift-off speed, and maximum control speed with the critical engine inoperative
d. Best angle-of-climb speed with one engine inoperative, lift-off speed, and minimum control speed with the critical engine inoperative

2. Each answer in the previous question used the term "critical engine." Must be important, or at least critical. The FAA defines the critical engine as the engine:
a. Whose failure has the most adverse effect on directional control.
b. Whose failure has the most adverse effect on altitude control.
c. On the left wing or rear engine in centerline thrust.
d. On the right wing or front engine in centerline thrust.

3. Building on your correct decoding of "V" speeds from question 1, complete this statement: V_MC is usually displayed on airspeed indicators in small, multi-engine airplanes with:
a. Red radial line
b. Red arc
c. Yellow radial line
d. Yellow arc

4. What does a blue radial line indicate on a light twin's airspeed indicator?
a. Single-engine best-rate-of-climb speed at maximum weight at service ceiling
b. Single-engine best-rate-of-climb speed at maximum weight at sea level
c. Single-engine best-angle-of-climb speed at maximum weight at sea level
d. Critical-engine best-rate-of-climb speed at maximum weight at all altitudes

5. In the event of an engine failure, the twin-engine pilot should stop engine rotation with the propeller blades streamlined with the airplane's relative wind to minimize drag. Fill in the blank: To do this, the pilot (_____) the propeller.
a. Stalls
b. Pitches
c. Feathers
d. Secures

6. Multi-part question: First add 200 + 200. Keeping that sum in mind, apply it to FAR 61.31(f), which requires training and a one-time endorsement to act as PIC of an airplane with an engine over 200 horsepower (high performance). If a pilot trains in a light, twin-engine airplane with each engine rated at 200 hp, this aircraft qualifies for a high-performance endorsement, because there is a total of 400 hp available.
a. True
b. False

7. Now that you've mastered the multi-engine airplane (granted, you should get some flight instruction and pass a checkride), let's take our twin-engine Piper Apache on vacation. Load up the kids and camping gear, and strap the dog crate to the roof, because this baby'll haul anything. First stop: Ailerona, Wyo. Field elevation: 6000 feet. The outside air temperature (OAT) is a pleasantly dry 59 degrees F (15 degrees C). Altimeter setting: 29.92. Using your E6B computer -- which you always carry -- or pilot intuition, estimate the density altitude in this scenario.
a. 5500 feet
b. 6000 feet
c. 7300 feet
d. 9500 feet

8. Scenario: Your normal, stabilized, final-approach speed is 80 knots when flying at lower elevations. On a late summer trip to the Succotash Mountains in eastern Utah, you're operating at a higher density altitude than normal. The wind is calm. Compared to familiar, lower density-altitude operations, if you stabilize your approach at 80 KIAS, you can expect (_____) (_____) true airspeed on approach and landing. (Fill in those blanks.)
a. An increased
b. A decreased
c. The same

9. Fill in the blanks from this Airplane Flying Handbook (8083-3A) statement: "(_____) (_____) is a condition of improved performance encountered when the airplane is operating very close to the ground. (It) can be detected and measured up to an altitude equal to one wingspan above the surface."
a. Ground effect
b. Wing effect
c. Downwash effect
d. Cushion effect

10. Here's one that gets the pop cans flying around the pilot's lounge: If the airplane's POH (Pilots Operating Handbook) calls for flaps on a short-field takeoff, then -- according to the FAA's Airplane Flying Handbook -- the flaps should be set:
a. During takeoff roll
b. Before starting takeoff roll
c. At rotation speed
d. At rotation speed if operated by the passenger or SEC

11. Bonus Survey Question: Professional pilots usually need multi-engine ratings, because most airlines fly airplanes with more than one engine. Although, some of us with way too much time on our hands wonder why they couldn't just have two single-engine pilots in the cockpit, with each assigned an engine. This begs the multi-faceted question: Other than for airline careers, is a multi-engine rating worth pursuing? And, if money were no object (meaning you're a politician and spending someone else's), would you go multi or stay single and why? If you've already made the multi-plunge, share your logic. Speed? Safety? Cool factor? Keep your answers brief (100 words or less), please.
a. Choose this answer, and then on the answer page you'll have the opportunity to tell us your opinions about single v. twin.
b. Please don't select this answer, even if you don't intend to write to us. It is here for technical reasons, so that your final quiz score will be accurate.

If you enjoyed taking this interactive quiz and would like to see more like it, go to the AVweb Brainteaser page. And if you thought it was unfair, confusing, or a waste of time, we'd like you to tell us that, too. And if you have an idea for a subject that you think would make a good future Brainteaser quiz, be sure to let us know.

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Interactive Quiz #174:Single v. Twin

Interactive Quiz #174:
Single v. Twin