Pilot Quiz – First, Biggest, Best

Aviation has many firsts, biggest, and bests. How many of these can you answer?

1. What is the altitude record for gas balloons?

a. 28,412 meters
b. 31,682 meters
c. 34,668 meters

2. What is the record for distance flown by a helicopter without landing?

a. 854.82 kilometers
b. 1,412.4 kilometers
c. 3,561.55 kilometers

3. From what altitude was the highest parachute jump made?

a. 64,212 feet
b. 102,800 feet
c. 87,419 feet

4. What was the date of the first jet-engine powered flight?

a. August 27, 1939
b. January 12, 1941
c. June 19, 1943

5. Who was the first to fly around the world without refueling?

a. Dick Rutan and Jenna Yeager
b. Wiley Post
c. Neal Armstrong

6. Capt. Elgen Long made the first circumpolar flight in what kind of an airplane?

a. C-130
b. Piper Navajo
c. F-14

7. Jimmy Doolittle was the first to take off, fly, and land an aircraft with only instrument visual reference. When did he do this?

a. 1914
b. 1929
c. 1931

8. John Montgomery is considered the first person to fly an aircraft in a controlled manner. He did this in a glider outside of San Diego. In what year was this done?

a. 1883
b. 1899
c. 1901

9. Trans World Airlines was the first to schedule non-stop commercial flights across the U.S. in what year?

a. 1946
b. 1949
c. 1953

10. The first true aircraft manufacturing company was Shorts, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The company was founded in what year?

a. 1908
b. 1912
c. 1922

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