Fabulous Flying Machines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Concorde

Taking its design tips from the earlier delta-winged bombers, Concorde was the fastest airliner of its day - the first passenger plane to exceed the speed of sound.

But the co-operation between France and the United Kingdom was costly to build and maintain, especially as it could only carry 100 passengers. The ideal route was across the North Atlantic between Europe and the USA, but early on it suffered a blow when US authorities would not let it fly supersonic across land. Indeed, most of its supersonic speeds were over the oceans.

Air France and British Airways were the only airlines to operate the sleekly-shaped plane with its dropped nose. The Soviet Union, meanwhile, was jealous and built the Tupolev Tu-144 "Concordski": a doppelgänger.

If the airlines could not squeeze in passengers in quantity, the decided to go for quality. Travel on Concorde would be a luxury for the well-heeled who were cash rich but time poor and needed to get somewhere fast. In 1996, a Concorde recorded a time of two hours 52 minutes and 59 second across the Atlantic. A return flight between London and New York City cost up to £8,292.

The operating costs were high, and rose following the crash of Air France Flight 4590 that killed 113 people in July 2000. The last flight took place in 2003. Sadly for lovers of aviation, no Concordes remain airworthy. If you want to see this beautiful aircraft, examples are parked at Runway Visitor Park, Manchester; Museum of Flight; Edinburgh; Aerospace Bristol; Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York; and The Museum of Flight, Seattle.

Answer: Airbus A 380

Runways had to be extended and new terminal facilities built for the double-decker Airbus A380. It became the largest passenger airliner in the world when it entered service in 2005. Operators boasted it could be configured to carry up to 853 passengers, although most airlines did not go that far. Some 242 had been built before the end of production was announced in 2019. The middle Eastern airline Emirates operated about half of them, but cut its order and said it would take delivery of its last in 2021.

However, the A380 concept was compromised. It was just too big, physically, but despite that airlines could not make the numbers stack up when reckoning passenger numbers on each and the freight it could carry. It was also far too thirsty. "Forbes" magazine estimated the A380 cost $26,000 and $29,000 per hour in fuel. That is at least $10,000 more than the Boeing 787-9.

Answer: Boeing V-22 Osprey

Is it a plane? is it a helicopter?...or is it both?...questions that have been posed about the Boeing V-22 Osprey.

The Osprey had engines that could tilt vertically or horizontally. Vertically, it could take off like a helicopter, the engines then rotated to a horizontal position and it flew like a plane.

Officially it was a tiltrotor, and quite often something that was a hybrid could fall between the two stools it sought to serve. Even so, in 2017 "Forbes" magazine called it "The Most Successful New Combat System Since 9-11". [Their headline capitalisation.]

The main usage of the Osprey was intended to be the US Marine Corps. They saw it as a way of getting troops and equipment to the battlefront. The US Airforce had its own variant. Once airborne, the Osprey could achieve a forward speed of 240 kts, depending on version. It could carry 24 troops.

However, early operations were not without problems. Between 1991 and 2000, four Osprey crashes occurred in non-combat operations, resulting in 30 fatalities. By 2019, 375 Ospreys were operating with US forces and there had been 42 deaths.

Answer: Hawker Siddeley Harrier

The Hawker Siddeley Harrier - familiarly known as the Harrier Jump Jet - first flew in December 1967. It was the latest development from the long established British company that had built the Hurricane, Hart, Tempest, and Hunter aircraft.

The Harrier was an innovative aircraft. It could take off and land vertically, and even fly backwards. As well as VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) characteristic, it had STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) abilities. One of the early aims was to have an aircraft that could support troop movements in a perceived land war if the Soviet Union invaded Western Europe.

The theory was that the Harrier would not need airfields, but could take off from rough ground, or even motorways, to support ground troops. All this made it ideal for use on aircraft carriers also. The US Marines loved the aircraft and it was developed into the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B.

As a ground support aircraft, the Harrier could carry a payload of 6,700-pounds (3,035 kg). They were also an able fighter, as was established during the Falklands War when Sea Harriers chalked up 20 'kills'. Only six Harriers were lost during that conflict: none in aerial combat.

In the UK, the Harrier was retired in 2011. The US Marines continued to fly them as late as 2017.

Answer: Douglas DC3

he Douglas DC3 first flew in 1935 and became more familiarly known as the C-47 Skytrain when it entered military service. The RAF gave it the nickname "Dakota".

The DC3 was a twin-engined plane that entered airline service in 1936. American Airlines wanted a plane that could fly from West to East Coast USA, and the DC3 could do that between Los Angeles and New York in 17 hours westbound and 15 eastbound.

When the Second World War started, the DC3 proved to be ideal for transporting troops or equipment. Around 10,000 planes of a number of variants were built during WW2. Adding in civilian planes before and after the war, that total increased to 16,000.

After the war, civilian life beckoned again. The DC3 flew with many airlines and it has been estimated that 300 were still in use at the time this quiz was written in 2020.

Answer: Hughes H4 Hercules

The H4 was the largest wooden aircraft ever built. While it was nicknamed the 'Spruce Goose', it was actually made out of larch.

The H4 was also known as the "Hughes Flying Boat" and was conceived by the reclusive and eccentric Howard Hughes. Initially it was aimed at carrying war material across the Atlantic in WW2. The Goose first 'flew' in November 1947, reaching an altitude of of 70 feet for one minute. It never got airborne again. Since then the Goose was rebuilt and was put on display in 2001 at McMinnville, Oregon.

Answer: Avro Vulcan

The Avro Vulcan was a delta-wing aircraft that first flew with the Royal Air Force in September 1956 and remained operational until March 1984. Initially the Vulcan was built to carry payloads of conventional or nuclear bombs at a high altitude against a perceived enemy in the Soviet Union. Later, it was adapted for low level operations.

The most famous operations "in anger" was during the Falklands War in 1982 when Vulcans carried out seven bombing raids on positions held by Argentina after their invasion. While the damage they caused was not significant, they showed the intent of the British.

The Vulcan had a range of about 4,000km and could carry a bomb load of 21 1,000lbs (454 kg). In all, 136 were built. The Vulcan last flew in 2015.

Answer: Boeing 747

The first 747 - Jumbo Jet- flew in February 1969 and came into service in January 1970. More than 1,500 were built. The Jumbo could carry up to 600 passengers, depending on configuration.

The 747 was discontinued from passenger service in 2019, although it was expected that air freight variants would continue. For passenger use, the 747 had become outdated. Rivals from Boeing, and from Airbus, could carry as many passengers and more economically.

Answer: Vickers Vimy

Designed as a two-engined bomber, the first Vickers Vimy flew in November 1917 and they became available for operations with the Royal Flying Corps in January 1918. In all, 147 were built, but they were too late to see operational service in WW1.

The Vimy was designed to have a long range, and this was to prove ideal in 1919 when Captain John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Whitten-Brown flew from Newfoundland to County Galway, Ireland, in 16 hours 28 minutes, winning a £10,000 prize offered by an English newspaper for the first non-stop transatlantic flight. That plane can be seen at the Science Museum in London

Answer: Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit

The Northrop B-2 Spirit, aka "Stealth Bomber", first flew in 1989 and was operational with the US Airforce from 1993. It was designed to fly at over 1,000km an hour (600mph) and be 'invisible' to enemy radar. In all, 21 had been built by the time this quiz was written in 2020.

The B2 could carry a bombload of 40,000 lbs - conventional or nuclear - over a distance of 11,100km (6,900 miles). Most of the USAF B2s were based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, and could reach targets in Europe and the Middle East.