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Humorous Boeing quiz...
Posted by bdk on Wed Dec 17, 2003 05:18:17 PM
In reply top null posted by null on null
Guest columnist: So you think you know Boeing
Seattle Times 12/17/03
author: Walt Crowley
(Copyright 2003)
Today marks the centennial of the Wright Brothers' first flight. This event changed the world forever, and it had a disproportionate impact locally.
With Boeing dominating the headlines, it seems appropriate to reflect on our long, sometimes bumpy aeronautical history. Here's a little quiz to test your "BQ" (Boeing Quotient).
The answers are at the end, and on www.HistoryLink.org (no cheating, please), so you can rate your qualifications to make informed aerospace decisions for our region.
1. In March 1910, Charles Hamilton demonstrated the first airplane to fly in greater Seattle at (a) the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, (b) Meadows race track in Georgetown, or (c) Sand Point.
2. In 1914, Silas Christofferson showed off the military value of aircraft by (a) bombing downtown Seattle with flour sacks, (b) shooting down pigeons mid-air, or (c) sinking a barge in Elliott Bay.
3. The first airplane built in Seattle was assembled in 1915 by (a) Conrad Westervelt, (b) Terah Maroney, or (c) Herb Munter.
4. Boeing's first plane, the "B&W, " took off on June 15, 1916, from (a) Lake Union, (b) Puget Sound, or (c) Bow Lake.
5. On March 3, 1919, Bill Boeing and Eddie Hubbard landed in Seattle with the first U.S. International Air Mail shipment from (a) Victoria, (b) Vancouver, or (c) Singapore.
6. Boeing's first "Red Barn" plant originally housed (a) a shipyard, (b) a fire station, or (c) dairy cows.
7. When military airplane orders dried up after World War I, Boeing sold local bootleggers (a) stealth aircraft, (b) speedboats, or (c) recycled bottles.
8. The original Boeing Air Transportation System between Chicago and San Francisco evolved into (a) Northwest Airlines, (b) PanAm Airways, or (c) United Air Lines.
9. The first aerial circumnavigation of the globe, which began and ended at Sand Point in 1924, took (a) 174 days, (b) 113 days, or (c) 80 days.
10. When King County balked at building him a new airfield at public expense, Boeing threatened to move his company to (a) Chicago, (b) Los Angeles, or (c) Dallas.
11. The first fatal airplane crash in Seattle occurred in (a) 1912, (b) 1923, or (c) 1938.
12. In 1929, Boeing moved its corporate headquarters from Seattle to (a) Washington, D.C., (b) New York, or (c) Chicago.
13. William Boeing retired in 1934 after federal antitrust regulators broke up his (a) Seattle-Wichita Airplane Co., (b) Boeing-Curtiss-Wright Co., or (c) United Aircraft and Transportation Co.
14. With the company unable to fill airline orders in the 1930s, sales of Boeing's new 247 airliner were quickly overtaken by the (a) Ford Trimotor (b) Douglas DC-3, or (c) Lockheed Constellation.
15. In 1942, the first choice for a new regional airport site was (a) Paine Field, (b) Lake Sammamish or (c) McChord Field.
16. The first Boeing airplane built in Renton was the (a) Sea Ranger (b) Stratocruiser, or (c) 727.
17. During World War II, Boeing and other companies turned out (a) 5,745, (b) 6,981, or (c) 12,726 B-17 bombers.
18. Boeing hired its first African American, stenographer Florise Spearman, in (a) 1938, (b) 1942, or (c) 1950.
19. The 1943 crash of the B-29 prototype destroyed (a) the Frye meat packing plant, (b) Boeing's Plant 2, or (c) the world's largest whorehouse.
20. In 1944, the Port of Seattle briefly renamed the Seattle-Tacoma Airport for (a) Boeing President Phil Johnson, (b) President Franklin Roosevelt, (c) Sen. Henry M. Jackson.
21. The Boeing B-29 "Enola Gay," which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, was built in (a) Renton, (b) Wichita, or (c) Omaha.
22. In an effort to break a 1948 strike by machinists, Boeing enlisted the aid of (a) President Harry Truman, (b) Teamster boss Dave Beck, or (c) movie actor Ronald Reagan.
23. The 1951 crash of a B-50 destroyed (a) the Frye meat packing plant, (b) Boeing's Plant 2, or (c) the world's largest whorehouse.
24. Test pilot Tex Johnston stunned 1955 Seafair spectators by putting the Dash-80 prototype of the 707 through, technically, (a) a barrel roll, (b) an aileron roll, or (c) a tootsie roll.
25. Boeing's design for the 747 grew out of a failed bid to build the (a) TFX , (b) C-5, or (c) DynaSoar.
26. After Congress canceled the Supersonic Transport project in 1970, Boeing sold its SST mockup to (a) the Smithsonian, (b) Museum of Flight, or (c) a Florida amusement park.
Bonus: True or False: During the "Boeing Bust" of the early 1970s, the company laid off more workers in Washington than it currently employs here.
Now check the answers to see how you rate: (1-9) Just moved here from St. Louis; (10-18) Earned your green card as a Seattleite; (19-26) You've climbed to the top of the Lazy B totem; and a perfect 27: Take a seat on the Boeing board of directors. We need you!
Answers: 1-b; 2-a; 3-c; 4-a; 5-b; 6-a; 7-b; 8-c; 9-a; 10-b; 11-a; 12-b; 13-c; 14-b; 15-b; 16-a; 17-c; 18-b; 19-a; 20-a; 21-c; 22-b; 23-c; 24-b; 25-b; 26-c; Bonus: true.
Visit www.historylink.org to learn more about each topic.
Walt Crowley is executive director of HistoryLink.org, the online encyclopedia of Seattle, King County and Washington state history. The HistoryLink staff contributed to this column.