The History of Flight Quiz | Transport

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Man has dreamt of flying for thousands of years,(think of Icarus). It didn't happen, though, until the latter part of the 18th Century. Who is credited with the first 'lighter than air' flight?

Answer: Montgolfier brothers

In September 1783 the first living land creatures left planet Earth, in a balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers. They were a sheep, a duck and a cockerel. Not long after, Fran�ois Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes made a flight lasting 25 minutes and covering 9Km. Manned flight had happened for the very first time.

2. A standard hot air balloon is dependent on wind to produce motion. What development was added to make them steerable and become useful machines for the military?

Answer: Engine

Over 100 years after the first manned flight small engines were fitted. These allowed the balloon to move independently of the wind. Airships had been developed. They found many uses, including reconnaissance for the military and as luxury passenger carriers.

3. In 1804 the first glider was flown. It was soon developed sufficiently to carry a small boy. The craft was designed and built by an Englishman. What was his name?

Answer: Sir George Cayley

Cayley's glider was essentially a long pole with a kite-shaped wing attached above, and control surfaces (very similar to modern aircraft) at the rear. Later models had a wheeled gondola underneath and a rudder like a boat.

4. The first recorded powered flight by a heavier-than-air machine is credited to John Stringfellow from Chard, Somerset. In which year did this historic event take place?

Answer: 1848

Stringfellow used a small steam engine to power a ten foot wingspan machine along a room in a disused lace mill. The engine, however, was not powerful enough for it to be practical and it would be some time before the problem of power-to-weight ratio was solved.

5. The problem of manned, powered flight was essentially solved in 1885 with the invention of the internal combustion engine. It was designed and built by which German engineer?

Answer: Daimler

Gottlieb Daimler produced the first single cylinder internal combustion engine. Future developments enabled construction of an engine with a power-to-weight ratio sufficient to lift man and machine. Otto Lilienthal built what is considered to be the forerunner of the hang glider. Karl Benz obtained the first patent for the internal combustion engine and Mercedes was a model name of an early motor vehicle built by Daimler in 1901.

In 1926 Daimler and Benz became business partners and founded one of the most famous motor manufacturing companies in the world, Daimler-Benz. Mercedes Benz was the brand name that they used.

6. Everyone knows that Orville Wright made the first controlled flight by man in a powered heavier than air machine. But in 1908 he also had a more dubious honour whilst demonstrating the Wright Flyer at Fort Myer, Virginia. What was the cause of this?

Answer: Death of a passenger

The passenger was Thomas E Selfridge, a First Lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps. The accident happened because of an engine failure causing vibrations in the machine. The propeller broke loose and damaged the rear control surface. Wright attempted to land but the aircraft hit the ground nose first. Selfridge was critically injured and died that night, never regaining conciousness.

7. Aviation was also developing in Europe in the early years of the 20th century. Frenchman Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly across the English Channel. His aircraft also achieved several other notable firsts. Which of the options was NOT one of them?

Answer: Flew non-stop across the Atlantic

The first powered aircraft to cross the Atlantic non-stop was a converted Vickers Vimy bomber crewed by John Alcock and Arthur Brown. In 1919 they flew from Newfoundland to Ireland in less than 72 hours to claim a prize of �10,000 put up by the Daily Mail newspaper. It was presented to them by Winston Churchill and they were both later knighted by King George V.

8. In 1912 a competition was devised for seaplanes to encourage advances in the industry. Over its short history (it was only held 11 times) it developed into a competition of pure speed. Which competition, reinstated in 1981 under a revised format and using a replica trophy, was it?

Answer: Schneider Trophy

The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was first won in 1913 by a French pilot at the astonishing speed of 45.71mph. By the following year the winning speed had almost doubled, an incredible advance in aircraft and engine design in such a short period of time.

By the time of the last race, in 1931, speeds had increased to 340mph. The Schneider Trophy led, indirectly, to aircraft such as the Spitfire and the Rolls Royce Merlin engine that powered it. The American P51 Mustang was also a development of aircraft flown in this race.

9. Towards the end of WWII both Britain and Germany introduced a new type of aircraft, the jet. Both countries had been developing them since the start of the war. The British aircraft was the Gloster Meteor. What was the German aircraft called?

Answer: Me 262 'Swallow'

Most people think of the Komet, the Me 163, as the first operational jet aircraft, but it was rocket-powered. The "Swallow" was a very superior aircraft, which could out-fly and out-gun anything else in the air at the time, including the Meteor. It was, however, introduced too late to make a real difference. Variants of the Me262 continued in service with the Czech airforce until 1951 when they were replaced with Soviet designs.

The Me 163 Komet is still the only rocket powered, manned, aircraft to enter operational service

10. Powered aviation has come a long way in a little over 100 years. From air balloons, to piston engines and on to jets. Today man is looking at alternate means to travel through the air. In 1979 a man-powered aircraft became the first one to cross the English Channel, echoing Bleriot's achievement 70 years before. Which man-powered aircraft completed the journey?

Answer: Gossamer Albatross

Designed by Dr. Paul B. MacCready and piloted by amateur cyclist Bryan Allen, Gossamer Albatross completed the 22 mile crossing in 2 hours 49 minutes achieving a top speed of just 18 mph and an average height of less than 6 feet. Two years earlier MacCready's Gossamer Condor, piloted by Allen, completed a figure of eight course around two pylons set half a mile apart.

It won MacCready the first Kremer prize, of �50,000, which is awarded to pioneers of human powered flight.

Source: Author romeomikegolf

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The History of Flight Trivia Quiz

As an instructor at my local Air Cadet squadron I have to teach cadets all sorts of topics to do with aviation. This quiz is based on the subject as taught to junior cadets.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>