History of Flight Quiz Quiz Questions

1. What was Hugo Junkers’s J-1 Blechesel, nicknamed the “Sheet Metal Donkey”?

A the first hot-air balloon B the first stealth bomber C the first all-metal airplane D the first functioning blimp

2. What was the Wright brothers’ name for their unique method of controlling aircraft in flight?

A weight shifting B fly-by-wire C wing warping D movable rudder

3. How did Swiss-born physicist Auguste Piccard achieve fame even before he built the first successful deep-sea submersible in 1948?

A explosives B seaplane racing C rocketry D ballooning

4. What vertical and short take-off and landing, or V/STOL, jet has been flown by both the Royal Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps?

A Mirage B Harrier C Spitfire D Mosquito

5. What is hypersonic speed?

A a speed in excess of Mach 3 B a speed of 50,000 km per hour C a speed in excess of Mach 5 D a speed of 10,000 km per hour

6. Which two aeronautical engineers, serving opposing sides during World War II, independently invented the jet engine?

A Aleksandr Yakovlev and Wernher von Braun B Frank Whittle and Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain C Geoffrey de Havilland and Willy Messerschmitt D Leroy Randle Grumman and Ernst Heinrich Heinkel

7. Which early U.S. and Soviet jet fighters engaged in history’s first large-scale jet fighter combat?

A F-86 Sabres and MiG-15s B F-104 Starfighters and MiG-17s C P-51 Mustangs and MiG-3s D F-4 Phantom IIs and MiG-21s

8. What jet-powered bomber was at first designed for supersonic, high-altitude flight but entered service as a subsonic, low-level bomber incorporating stealth technology?

A Tu-95 B Avro Vulcan C B-1 D B-2

9. What did English nobleman George Cayley successfully test in 1853 after studying stability, lift, and control?

A the first helium-filled balloon B the first man-carrying glider C the first elevator D the first blimp

10. What airline manufacturer grew to challenge the Boeing Company through its technical innovations and fleet of diverse aircraft?

A Rockwell International B British Aerospace C Airbus Industrie D McDonnell Douglas

11. What is Igor Sikorsky best known for developing?

A helicopter B racing seaplane C hovercraft D hydrofoil

12. What aeronautical engineer was the guiding genius behind the Soviet ballistic missile and spaceflight programs?

A Sergey Korolyov B Andrey Tupolev C Nikolay Zhukovsky D Konstantin Tsiolkovsky