Flight Test Interview Questions?
Hi All,
I'm a new guy trying to get in the business. I interviewed for a junior FTE position, but didn't get it ( :-( ). After beating myself up for a few days, I'm trying to put together a gameplan to reapply in 3 months time (hopefully the position will still be open and I didn't make too much of a fool of myself). I'm going to work on my interview skills (keeping my cool during questioning and not blabber) as well as my technical knowledge.
I'd like to poll the audience for technical interview questions that you have seen or think would be appropriate. As important as the answer is the process as to how you determine that answer. Maybe this test bank will help others trying to get into the business as well.
Here are some questions that I encountered:
1.Q. Is a helicopter rotor disk parallel to the ground during hover
A. Use F = ma to find the answer
2. Q. You have a new aircraft. How can you get Calibrated Airspeed from Indicated Airspeed
A. Formation flying with a aircraft that has calibrated data or fly between landmarks (need to take wind into account by going upwind, downwind, and crosswind)
3. Q. Pitot- static tubes are usually close enough to the airplane that some disturbances occur. How do you get pure, unadulterated V_infinity?
A. Test planes usually drag a line behind them that is far enough from the plane that it can be considered essentially V_infinity. I said a long pitot static far outfront could work
4. Q. You are in a 2g turn, what is the estimated minimum speed needed to maintain this?
A. Use F = ma, relating the g load to the lift equation.
5. Q. What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow (African)?
JK. They didn't ask me that
Any questions would be much appreciated. Good luck to anyone else trying to be an FTE.