Aviation brain teasers

[Gabriel]

Ok, so this is the forum where aviation quiz games take place, right? We have the "name this plane" and "name this airport here". So I hope that this thread gets the "sticky award" too.

The idea is to present brain teasers. The rule is that they must be related to aviation somehow, even if modified from its original version to replace a train for a plane, for example. And that the answers MUST include the explanation.

So I start:

A helicopter takes off, flies 10NM South, 10NM West and 10NM North, thus returning to the departure point, only to find that there is a bear on the landing spot. What color is the bear?

[MCM]

White methinks

[Gabriel]

White methinks

We are sorry, but we are not able to process your answer because it does not comply with the rule stated above that says "the answer must include the explanation"

[brianw999]

The bear is white. Actually, it's a yellowish tint of white and to be exact, it's a polar bear.

Why ? Because the takeoff point had to be from the North Pole for the first leg to be southbound and for the two further legs to return you to the takeoff point.

But give it to MCM as he got the colour right !

[MCM]

No no, Gabriel is right. I did not RTFQ, and so am disqualified.

One must stand up for principles, and following directions is one

[Gabriel]

The bear is white. Actually, it's a yellowish tint of white and to be exact, it's a polar bear.

Why ? Because the takeoff point had to be from the North Pole for the first leg to be southbound and for the two further legs to return you to the takeoff point.

But give it to MCM as he got the colour right !

Brilliant!

As a corollary, in fact there are infinite points on the Earth where such a route is possible (a closed route consisting of 10NM South, 10NM West and 10NM North).

Think, for example, the circle of 10NM of circumference with center in the South Pole. Any point 10NM north of that circle meets the criteria, since you would go 10NM South, then turn West and make the full 10NM cirle, and return 10NM North through the same path that you went South, thus reaching the departing point.

Not only that. Think of the circle of 5NM of circumference with center in the South Pole. Again, any point 10NM of that circle meets the criteria, except that you would do two full circles while going 10NM West.

In general, any point 10NM North of a circle with a circumference length of 10NM/n (n is any natural number) and center in the South Pole meets the criteria.

Except.... there are no bears near the South Pole

Brian, MCM, you both deserve it (hey MCM, as the regulation authority of this thread, I have the right to concede waivers). The first to post the next riddle wins the turn!

[ATLcrew]

Except.... there are no bears near the South Pole

Probably why it's called Ant-arc-tic (Greek "where the bears are not").

[Gabriel]

Probably why it's called Ant-arc-tic (Greek "where the bears are not").

That's true!!!

But general consensus is that it's in fact "Ant-Arctic" which is "Opposite to the Arctic" and, in turn, Arctic is Near the Bear. But Arctic was the general Greek name for "Northern" and, because it's not believed that Greeks knew that there were bears near the North Pole, chances are that the name is likely related to the Ursa Major and Ursa minor constellations, literally Big Bear and Little Bear (the latest include the Polar Star).

[3WE]

This may not be quite what Gabriel is after, but it got me thinking a while back...

Coffin corner is a critical, dangerous place:

If you speed up, you break up and die.
If you slow down, you break up and die.
If you climb, you break up and die.
If you descend, you break up and die.

The ONLY thing you can do is burn off fuel and then hopefully slowly descend and slow down.

The question is “What was this guy thinking?”

I don’t know the answer, but have a good suspicion what he was thinking and think he’s only slightly misguided…

[Gabriel]

Cc

[brianw999]

"Thank God I'm in a helicopter, at least I can autorotate out of here !"

[brianw999]

You need a cynical attitude to figure this out and there could be a slight difference in a correct answer.

So ........ The same helicopter pilot was flying somewhere over Washington but wasn't sure exactly where he was. He therefore descended to a hover over a new, large business complex and held up a written sign to the office workers which said "Where am I ?"
The workers promptly took their headsets off and scrawled a note to him that said "you are sitting in the front right seat and you are hovering at 50 feet"

The pilot promptly realised where he was, set course to his destination and landed safely.

What happened to bring this about ?

[3WE]

I'm not sure where he is...white house? congress building? agricultural extension office?

In any case, the pilot received information that is almost 100% accurate and almost 100% useless.

Absolute statements are almost always wrong.

[3WE]

C'mon Brian- take a guess at the coffin corner post...put yourself in the mind of a 13 year old.

Hint: If you are in coffin corner you are at the ultimate limits of the airplane....you cannot go any faster, any slower or any higher (for practical purposes) or something bad will happen.

[brianw999]

I'm not sure where he is...white house? congress building? agricultural extension office?

In any case, the pilot received information that is almost 100% accurate and almost 100% useless.

Absolute statements are almost always wrong.

You are so very close there. Let me rephrase the question and add a little more information.
-I gave a clue that the office workers removed their headsets ? That means that they talk to people. What part of a company talks to people a lot especially after the company product has been purchased ?
-The brand new building in Washington is the headquarters of the company although it is more commonly associated with Seattle.
-So, what is the company and who are the office workers ? The fact that he received 100% accurate information that was 100% useless to his current predicament is an accurate statement.