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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 4, "The Lab Rat".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When do the pilots wear their bridge coats?
(a) When they attend another pilot's funeral.
(b) When it is raining.
(c) When superior officers visit the base.
(d) When they are on patrol.

2. What problem does the Army have with Yeager piloting the X-1?
(a) They can't convince him the sound barrier is real.
(b) They can't keep his wife away from the base.
(c) They can't stop him from drinking.
(d) They can't hold him back.

3. Why does Janet Conrad support her husband's decision to join the astronaut program?
(a) She thinks it will vault his career to the top.
(b) She thinks it will be safer than flying high-performance jet fighters.
(c) She wants her husband to be a famous astronaut.
(d) She wants to move out of the desert.

4. When the book begins, where is the Naval Air Station that Pete Conrad is stationed at?
(a) Florida.
(b) California.
(c) Texas.
(d) Nevada.

5. What is Jim Lovell's nickname?
(a) Scooby.
(b) Ears.
(c) Ace.
(d) Shaky.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who originally pilots the X-1 aircraft?

2. When a pilot is in the air and looking down at the ground, what does he most often feel?

3. What does the author liken the deck of a carrier to?

4. How many planes does a pilot have to shoot down in combat to be considered an "ace"?

5. Complete this flying theorem: "There are no accidents and no fatal flaws in the machines..."

(see the answer key)

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