Seems like a good question will satisfy several criteria:

* possible for average person to answer
* not too obvious
* good flying P.R. properties

That means ones like "how many people were killed in the Canary
Islands in a famous airline disaster" are not optimal. Ditto ones on
the Hindenburg, atomic bombs, Dresden, etc.

How about "how many certificated pilots are there in the United
States?" Of course, you can tune the multiple-choices to make it
as hard or easy as you like. Hard: a) 427,000 b) 427,500 c) 427,501;
easy: a) 1 b) 1,000,000,000 c) 427,000. (By the way, I don't know
what the right answer is....).

Another one: what is the average distance from an airport in an
American metropolitan area (again, no idea, but it can't be more
than ten miles). An ever-popular one is "what is the proportion
of pilots in the state of Alaska." You could also ask that for your
state (Iowa, if I recall correctly).

You might ask some "ancient history of flight" ones. For
instance, "what German glider pilot inspired the Wright
brothers?" That one we all know the answer to--even me!
There's some claim that the ancient Egyptians flew gliders,
so you could ask a question like "what is the oldest heavier-than-air
flying machine proposed?" or something like that, possibly
being prepared to accept the legend of Icarus if you're feeling
generous. There's also a proposal that the builders of the
Nasca lines used hot-air balloons to observe the construction
(I don't buy it, but you don't need a verified fact for an interesting
question).

Some simple technology-of-flight questions might be good,
too, e.g., "the control surface that makes an airplane dive and
climb is a) the escalator b) the elevator c) the estimator."
"General aviation aircraft are ____ than airliners a) more convenient
b) more fun c) more comfortable d) all of the above."

Have to work in a Zeppelin question, maybe something along the
lines of "what was the first luxury air service between Europe
and South America" or when (I think it was 1934 but have to look
it up....).

I'm really good at asking questions, I just don't know any of the
answers.... Good luck with your contest--it sounds like fun.

Regards,

Mike Beede