ANIT: the ASTB-E aviation and nautical information test

A vessel's red and green sidelights each show over an arc of ____.

1. 112.5°
   Each sidelight shines from dead ahead to 22.5° abaft the beam: 90° + 22.5° = 112.5°.
2. 122.5°
   122.5° adds the 22.5° beyond the beam to the wrong base; the beam is 90° from the bow, not 100°.
3. 135°
   135° is the stern light's arc; the stern light and two sidelights together cover the full 360°.
4. 225°
   225° is the masthead light's arc (both sidelight arcs together), not the arc of one sidelight.

ID 813076 · Report a problem

USS Langley (CV-1), the Navy's first aircraft carrier, was converted from a ____.

1. Battlecruiser
   Lexington and Saratoga were the carriers converted from unfinished battlecruisers, a few years after Langley.
2. Fleet oiler
   Some escort carriers of World War II were converted oilers; Langley was a coal ship, not an oiler.
3. Collier
   Langley began as the coal ship USS Jupiter and was converted in 1920–22 into CV-1.
4. Passenger liner
   Some early carriers, such as Britain's HMS Argus, were converted liners; Langley's hull was a Navy collier.

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At night you see only a single red sidelight on another vessel. Which part of that vessel is facing you?

1. Its port side
   The red sidelight is on the port side, so seeing only red means that vessel's port side faces you.
2. Its bow, head-on
   A vessel seen head-on shows both red and green sidelights (plus its masthead light), not red alone.
3. Its starboard side
   The starboard sidelight is green; a starboard view would show a single green light.
4. Its stern
   From astern you would see the white stern light; the sidelights are screened from behind.

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The vertical distance from the waterline down to the bottom of a ship's keel is its ____.

1. Displacement
   Displacement is the weight of water the hull pushes aside, a weight, not a vertical distance.
2. Freeboard
   Freeboard runs the other way: from the waterline up to the main deck.
3. Draft
   Draft is the depth of the hull below the waterline, measured down to the bottom of the keel.
4. Beam
   Beam is the ship's width at its widest point, a side-to-side measure.

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The U.S. Navy's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was ____.

1. USS Long Beach
   Long Beach was the first nuclear-powered surface warship, but she was a cruiser, not a carrier.
2. USS Enterprise
   Enterprise (CVN-65), commissioned in 1961 with eight reactors, was the first nuclear-powered carrier.
3. USS Nimitz
   Nimitz (CVN-68) was commissioned in 1975 and leads the class that followed Enterprise.
4. USS Nautilus
   Nautilus (1954) was the first nuclear-powered submarine, not a carrier.

ID 813167 · Report a problem

In naval aviation history, Glenn Curtiss is best known for ____.

1. Becoming Naval Aviator No. 1
   That was his student, Lt. Theodore Ellyson; Curtiss was a civilian.
2. Commanding USS Langley
   Langley was commanded by naval officers; Curtiss never held a Navy command.
3. Making the first takeoff from a warship
   Eugene Ely made that 1910 takeoff from USS Birmingham, flying a Curtiss airplane, which is the source of the mix-up.
4. Building the first practical seaplane
   Curtiss flew his hydroaeroplane off the water in 1911 and sold the Navy its first aircraft.

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Aboard Navy ships, the two short 'dog watches' run ____.

1. 0400–0600 and 0600–0800
   0400–0800 is the morning watch, kept as one four-hour watch.
2. 1200–1400 and 1400–1600
   1200–1600 is the afternoon watch; the split comes right after it.
3. 1600–1800 and 1800–2000
   The first and last dog watches split the 1600–2000 period into two short watches so the crew can eat and the rotation shifts each day.
4. 0000–0200 and 0200–0400
   0000–0400 is the midwatch, also a single four-hour watch.

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In the U.S. Navy, one shot of anchor chain is ____ long.

1. 10 fathoms
   10 fathoms is only 60 ft, two-thirds of a shot.
2. 15 fathoms
   A Navy shot is 15 fathoms, or 90 feet, of chain between detachable links.
3. 25 fathoms
   25 fathoms is 150 ft, well over one shot; 90 ft is the standard length.
4. 50 fathoms
   50 fathoms (300 ft) is more than three shots, not one.

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Who became the first Marine Corps aviator in 1912?

1. Alfred Cunningham
   1st Lt. Alfred Cunningham reported for flight training in 1912 and became the first Marine Corps aviator.
2. John Rodgers
   John Rodgers was a Navy officer, Naval Aviator No. 2, not a Marine.
3. Gregory Boyington
   "Pappy" Boyington was a famous World War II Marine ace, three decades later.
4. Theodore Ellyson
   Ellyson was the Navy's first aviator, not the Marine Corps's.

ID 813534 · Report a problem

When a pilot rolls into a right turn using ailerons alone, adverse yaw pulls the nose ____.

1. To the right
   Toward the turn is what the pilot wants; adverse yaw is named for pulling the nose the opposite way.
2. Down
   A nose-down tendency comes from lost vertical lift in the bank, not from aileron drag.
3. To the left
   In a right roll the left wing's lowered aileron makes more lift and more induced drag, so the nose is pulled left, away from the turn.
4. Up
   Pitch is not the effect here; aileron drag acts around the vertical axis.

ID 812978 · Report a problem

The attitude indicator relies on which gyroscopic property?

1. Precession
   Precession is the gyro's drift under a force; it causes errors rather than the indication.
2. Magnetic dip
   Dip is a magnetic compass error; the attitude indicator has no magnet.
3. Centrifugal force
   Centrifugal force in turns produces small errors in some instruments, but it is not the gyroscopic property used.
4. Rigidity in space
   The spinning gyro holds its orientation in space, so the airplane moves around it and the horizon bar stays level.

ID 812999 · Report a problem

In a high-power climb, the descending propeller blade on the right takes a bigger bite of air than the rising blade on the left. This left-turning tendency is ____.

1. P-factor
   At high angle of attack the descending right blade meets the air at a larger angle and makes more thrust, yawing the nose left.
2. Spiraling slipstream
   The slipstream corkscrews back and strikes the left side of the tail; it is a separate left-turning cause.
3. Torque
   Torque is the airplane rolling opposite the propeller's rotation; it is not about unequal blade bites.
4. Gyroscopic precession
   Precession acts when the spinning propeller is tilted, as when the tail is raised on takeoff, not in a steady climb.

ID 813078 · Report a problem

At an airport without an operating control tower, pilots self-announce their position on the ____.

1. ATIS frequency
   ATIS is a recorded broadcast of weather and runway information; pilots only listen to it.
2. 121.5 MHz
   121.5 MHz is the emergency frequency, not for routine traffic calls.
3. Ground control frequency
   Ground control exists only when a tower is operating; it handles taxi clearances.
4. CTAF
   The Common Traffic Advisory Frequency is where pilots announce position and intentions at an airport without an operating tower.

ID 813085 · Report a problem

Which pair replaced 'Able, Baker' when the U.S. adopted the ICAO phonetic alphabet in the 1950s?

1. Ack, Beer
   Ack, Beer comes from the World War I British signals alphabet.
2. Alpha, Beta
   Alpha and Beta are Greek letters; "Beta" was never a radio code word.
3. Adam, Boy
   Adam, Boy is an older police radio alphabet, not the ICAO standard.
4. Alfa, Bravo
   The ICAO alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie…) replaced Able-Baker in 1956; "Alfa" is spelled with an f.

ID 813092 · Report a problem

A pilot flying VFR more than 3,000 ft AGL on a magnetic course of 090° should select a cruising altitude of ____.

1. 5,000 ft MSL
   5,000 ft is a whole odd thousand, the eastbound IFR altitude; VFR adds 500 ft.
2. 5,500 ft MSL
   On magnetic courses 0°–179° above 3,000 ft AGL, VFR flights use odd thousands plus 500 ft (14 CFR 91.159).
3. 6,000 ft MSL
   6,000 ft is an even thousand, the westbound IFR altitude.
4. 6,500 ft MSL
   6,500 ft is even thousands plus 500, the rule for westbound courses 180°–359°.

ID 812974 · Report a problem