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Airplane Trivia
Discover jaw-dropping airplane facts that will amaze every aviation enthusiast! From the Wright Brothers' 12-second flight to supersonic jets crossing the Atlantic in under 3 hours - these incredible aviation secrets will blow your mind.
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Questions (150 of 150)
🟢easy
What famous female pilot disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937?
🔴hard
In what year did the Airbus A300, the first twin-engine widebody, enter service?
🟢easy
How long did the Wright Brothers' first powered flight last in 1903?
🟢easy
Which famous aviator made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927?
🟢easy
What is the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic as of 2024?
🔴hard
What was the range of the original Boeing 747-100 in nautical miles?
🔴hard
How many flight hours does a pilot need to earn an Airline Transport Pilot certificate in the United States?
🟡medium
Which famous World War I flying ace was known as the 'Red Baron'?
🔴hard
How many aerial victories did the Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen officially score in World War I?
🟡medium
Which country built the Tupolev Tu-144, the world's first supersonic transport to fly?
🟢easy
What is the largest commercial passenger airplane in service?
🟢easy
What fuel do most commercial jet airplanes use?
🟢easy
What type of airplane has two sets of wings stacked one above the other?
🟢easy
What is the safest phase of a commercial flight statistically?
🟡medium
What is the typical wingspan of a Boeing 777-300ER?
🟢easy
What navigation system do modern airplanes use to determine their position?
🟢easy
What do passengers use to breathe if cabin pressure drops?
🟢easy
Where did the Wright Brothers' first powered flight take place?
🟢easy
What is the airplane's landing gear primarily made of?
🔴hard
What altitude did the X-15 rocket plane reach on its highest flight in 1963?
🟡medium
What does the acronym TCAS stand for in aviation safety?
🔴hard
How many Lockheed SR-71 Blackbirds were built in total?
🟡medium
What is the ICAO phonetic alphabet word for the letter 'A'?
🟢easy
What is the speed of sound that supersonic jets exceed?
🔴hard
What was the first stealth aircraft to be used in combat?
🔴hard
In what year did the De Havilland Comet first enter commercial service?
🟢easy
What is the name of the airplane that drops water on wildfires?
🔴hard
What was the total number of Concorde aircraft built, including prototypes?
🟡medium
What is the name of the autopilot system that can land an airplane without pilot input?
🟢easy
Which side of the airplane is 'port' referring to?
🔴hard
What was the first airplane to fly nonstop around the world without refueling in 1986?
🟡medium
How fast could the Concorde fly at its maximum cruising speed?
🔴hard
What structural defect caused the crashes of the early De Havilland Comets?
🔴hard
What was the first commercial airline in the world to operate sustained scheduled services, founded in 1909?
🟡medium
What is the purpose of the pitot tube on an airplane?
🟡medium
What airplane first broke the sound barrier in level flight on October 14, 1947?
🟡medium
How many times did the Spruce Goose actually fly?
🟢easy
How many engines does a standard Boeing 737 have?
🟢easy
Which company manufactures the 747 jumbo jet?
🟡medium
What year was the first transatlantic passenger jet service inaugurated?
🟢easy
What type of airplane engine uses a rotating fan to produce thrust?
🔴hard
What was the name of the Wright Brothers' first successful powered aircraft?
🔴hard
What was the first fly-by-wire commercial aircraft to enter service?
🔴hard
How many Douglas DC-3 aircraft were built in total, including military C-47 variants?
🟢easy
What weather phenomenon is most dangerous to airplanes during flight?
🔴hard
What is the name of the airfoil shape that produces a supercritical wing profile used on modern jets?
🟡medium
What is the purpose of an airplane's yaw damper?
🟡medium
What airline operated the final Concorde flight in October 2003?
🟢easy
What is the name of the area where passengers sit on a commercial airplane?
🟢easy
What is turbulence caused by?
🟢easy
What famous airplane was the first mass-produced commercial jetliner?
🟡medium
What type of engine powers the Airbus A400M military transport?
🟡medium
Which U.S. state was home to the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop where they designed their aircraft?
🟡medium
What was Pan American World Airways commonly known as?
🟡medium
What does the aviation term 'CAVU' mean?
🟡medium
Which military aircraft was the first operational jet fighter in history?
🟢easy
What is the trail of white condensation left behind a flying airplane called?
🔴hard
What is the name of the phenomenon where compressibility effects cause control reversal at transonic speeds?
🔴hard
What was the operational ceiling of the SR-71 Blackbird?
🟢easy
What does 'Mach 1' represent in aviation?
🟢easy
Which airplane manufacturer is headquartered in Toulouse, France?
🟡medium
Which manufacturer produces the E-series regional jets used by many airlines?
🔴hard
How many B-29 Superfortresses were built during World War II?
🔴hard
What is the Kármán line altitude that defines the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space?
🟢easy
What is the term for the distance an airplane needs to become airborne?
🟢easy
What does the term 'hangar' refer to at an airport?
🟢easy
What is the vertical fin at the rear of an airplane called?
🟡medium
Who was the pilot that first broke the sound barrier?
🟡medium
What is the internationally recognized emergency transponder code that a pilot squawks for hijacking?
🔴hard
What is the name of the theory of flight that explains lift through Newton's Third Law of Motion?
🟡medium
Which airplane was the primary Allied transport in World War II, nicknamed 'Gooney Bird'?
🔴hard
What was the exact date of the Concorde's final commercial flight?
🟢easy
What instrument shows a pilot how high the airplane is above sea level?
🟡medium
What is the name of the invisible wake of spinning air left behind a large aircraft?
🔴hard
What was the name of the first airplane to drop an atomic bomb?
🔴hard
What year did Boeing deliver its last 747 aircraft, ending the production run?
🔴hard
What German engineer is credited with designing the first practical helicopter in 1936?
🔴hard
What was the exact distance of the Wright Brothers' first powered flight on December 17, 1903?
🟡medium
What airplane is commonly known as the 'Queen of the Skies'?
🔴hard
What country developed the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, the dominant Pacific fighter early in WWII?
🔴hard
What was the maximum speed of the North American X-15 rocket plane?
🟡medium
What is the 'angle of attack' in aviation?
🟡medium
What is the purpose of winglets on modern commercial aircraft?
🔴hard
What kind of wood was the Hughes H-4 Hercules primarily built from?
🟡medium
What is the Bernoulli principle's role in airplane flight?
🟢easy
Which supersonic passenger jet operated from 1976 to 2003?
🔴hard
In what year did the Airbus A320 make its first flight?
🟢easy
Which war saw the first widespread use of airplanes in combat?
🟡medium
Which country's airline is Qantas, one of the oldest airlines still operating?
🟡medium
What world record speed did the SR-71 Blackbird set in 1976 that still stands for manned air-breathing aircraft?
🔴hard
What was the cruising altitude of the Concorde during supersonic flight?
🟢easy
What do the movable surfaces on the trailing edge of a wing control during a turn?
🟡medium
What was the first jet-powered airliner to enter commercial service?
🟢easy
What is the small triangular window on older airplane cockpits called?
🟢easy
What part of an airplane generates lift to keep it airborne?
🟡medium
What color is the taxiway centerline at most airports?
🔴hard
What was the name of the Lockheed aircraft that set a transcontinental speed record of 3 hours 47 minutes in 1990?
🔴hard
How many engines did the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress originally carry?
🟡medium
What is the maximum takeoff weight of a fully loaded Airbus A380?
🔴hard
How many days did it take the Rutan Voyager to fly nonstop around the world?
🟢easy
What is the term for an airplane flying without engine power, gliding through the air?
🔴hard
What year did the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird first fly?
🟢easy
What is the standard cruising altitude range for most commercial flights?
🟡medium
What is the name of the Boeing wide-body twin-engine jet that replaced the 767 on many routes?
🟡medium
In what year did the Wright Brothers achieve their first powered flight at Kitty Hawk?
🔴hard
What was the fatal flaw of the Comet 1 windows that was discovered after the crashes?
🟡medium
What is the name for the region of calm air at high altitude where jet streams flow?
🔴hard
What year did Amelia Earhart become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic?
🟡medium
How many rivets are in a typical Boeing 747?
🟢easy
What color are the runway edge lights at an airport?
🟢easy
What is the black box in an airplane actually colored?
🔴hard
What is the name of the flight condition where an aircraft exceeds its maximum operating Mach number?
🟡medium
What does VTOL stand for in aviation?
🟡medium
Which airplane holds the record for the longest nonstop commercial flight route as of 2024?
🟡medium
What year did the Boeing 747 make its first commercial flight?
🟢easy
What is the purpose of flaps on an airplane wing?
🟡medium
What was the first airline to offer regular scheduled passenger service?
🟡medium
What does ETOPS certification allow twin-engine aircraft to do?
🔴hard
What is the name of the rule that governs the area distribution of a supersonic aircraft's cross-section?
🔴hard
What is the specific fuel consumption measured in for jet engines?
🟡medium
How many passengers could the Concorde carry at maximum capacity?
🟡medium
What is the typical lifespan of a commercial aircraft in service years?
🟢easy
What is the nickname for the U.S. President's official airplane?
🟢easy
What does the 'jet' in jet engine refer to?
🟡medium
What material makes up most of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's airframe?
🔴hard
What is the name of the phenomenon where ice crystals form on an aircraft's surfaces and disrupt airflow?
🟢easy
What is the name of the Boeing 747 variant used as Air Force One?
🔴hard
What was the wingspan of the Hughes H-4 Hercules (Spruce Goose)?
🟡medium
What was the name of Charles Lindbergh's airplane for his 1927 transatlantic flight?
🔴hard
What is the name of the FAA regulation that governs airline operations and safety standards?
🟢easy
What does the abbreviation 'FAA' stand for?
🟡medium
Which World War II fighter plane was nicknamed 'The Fork-Tailed Devil' by German pilots?
🟡medium
How many feet of altitude does the standard pressure setting of 29.92 inches of mercury correspond to?
🔴hard
What type of aircraft was the Enola Gay?
🔴hard
What was the first widebody airplane to enter commercial service, debuting with Pan Am in January 1970?
🔴hard
What is the maximum number of passengers the Airbus A380 is certified to carry in an all-economy configuration?
🟢easy
Which direction does an airplane's propeller spin to pull it forward?
🟡medium
What airplane was nicknamed the 'Spruce Goose'?
🟢easy
What is the room where pilots control the airplane called?
🔴hard
How many Boeing 727s were produced during its entire production run from 1963 to 1984?
🔴hard
In what year was the F-117 Nighthawk first used in combat during Operation Just Cause?
🟢easy
What is the international distress signal called by pilots in an emergency?
🟢easy
What does a pilot pull back on to make the nose of the airplane go up?
🟢easy
What is the term for when an airplane's wing loses lift due to excessive angle of attack?
🟡medium
What is the name of the device that records cockpit conversations during a flight?
🔴hard
What was the first jet to cross the Atlantic nonstop, doing so in 1948?
🟢easy
Who are credited as the first to achieve powered, sustained flight in 1903?
🟡medium
What does ATC stand for in aviation?
🔴hard
What type of jet engine did Frank Whittle patent in 1930?
🟢easy
What is the force that opposes an airplane's forward motion through the air?
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