Flying to a Goal Trivia Quiz

Answer: Earle L. Ovington

During an aviation meeting on Long Island, N.Y., in September 1911, Earle Ovington, flying a "Queen" monoplane, repeatedly covered a set route to Mineola, N.Y. and back, dropping pouches of mail for the postmaster at Mineola. This inaugural demonstration sparked the interest of the US Post Office Department, which began to sponsor short experimental flights.

Answer: New York, NY to Washington, D.C.

The air-mail service between the cities of New York and Washington included a stop in Philadelphia to exchange mail and sometimes aircraft. The distance was approximately 218 miles and a round trip was made on a daily basis.

The aircraft and pilots were seconded by the War Department to the Post Office Department from May 15 until August 12, 1918, when the Postal Department took on the full operation of this route.

Answer: DeHavilland DH-4 with Liberty engine

The DH-4s and Liberty engines were purchased from the War and Navy Departments at the end of WWI. A great deal of work went into improving the reliability of the engine, including modified gears, drilled pistons and a better oil pump. When combined with regular maintenance regimes, this resulted in a much more predictable and reliable service, and forced landings soon became rare.

Answer: Vickers Vernon

The Vickers Vernon was a development of the Vickers Vimy Commercial. The aircraft was used in 1923 by the RAF in Iraq to transport nearly 500 Sikh troops from Kingarban to Kirkuk in the first ever strategic troop airlift.

None of my alternative aircraft choices was flying in the 1920s.

Answer: Douglas DC-3

The DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport) was developed at the request of American Airlines. Chief Douglas engineer Arthur Raymond led a team which built the prototype, which first flew on December 17, 1935 (the 32nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers' Kitty Hawk flight). Only 7 DSTs were built, but the DC-3 (a 21 seat variation) took the DST's place on the production line. Used extensively as a troop and equipment carrier in WWII and Korea, and subsequently undergoing many changes of use, internal configuration and engines, the DC-3 is still in active service as of mid 2018.

Answer: Hughes H-4 Hercules

The Hughes Hercules was the largest aircraft ever built at the time. Due to wartime restrictions on the use of aluminium, it was constructed mainly of birch, leading to it being dubbed the "Spruce Goose". At nearly 321 ft wingspan and a fuselage length of over 218 ft, it was designed to carry 150,000 lbs. The project cost over $2.5 million, but was abandoned due to lack of official interest.

Answer: Airbus A300

The Airbus A-300, a wide-body airliner, was a pragmatic answer to the fact that, if the various European manufacturers were each to develop their own aircraft, there would be insufficient sales to keep any of them afloat. The A-300 was able to seat more than 260 passengers in a two-class layout. It took a great deal of co-ordination to develop as the wings were built by de Havilland in Britain, French firms would build the cockpit and control systems and part of the fuselage,the remainder of the fuselage was built by German companies, the moving components of the wings were the province of the Netherlands, and the horizontal tailplane was built in Spain.

Its first commercial flight was on 23rd May, 1974.

Answer: John Travolta

The Boeing 707 was a highly successful jetliner, which dominated many international air routes during the 1960s and early 1970s. It was built from 1958 to 1979.

The Boeing 707 "City of Launceston" was in service with Qantas from 1964 to 1968. It served briefly with Braniff Airlines, and then was converted to a corporate jet. John Travolta purchased the aircraft in 1998.

In 2017, Mr Travolta decided to gift his aircraft to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society in the Illawarra in Australia. Although by that time not in an airworthy state, the plan was to restore it sufficiently to enable it to be flown back to Australia.

Answer: Lockheed

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy had an empty weight of 380,000 lbs, with a maximum take-off weight (including fuel) of 920,000 lbs. It had a range of 5,500 nautical miles, making it a very versatile and useful beast of burden. It and its variants were employed by various branches of the US military until 2015.

Answer: Antonov An-225 Mriya

The Mriya was designed to airlift the Buan orbiter for the Russian space program. It can carry up to 550,000 lbs internally or 440,000 lbs externally on top of its fuselage. Despite its versatility and immense strength, the project was shelved due to its massive cost.

It appears that China is interested in the aircraft, and a variant of the design may go into production at some later date.