Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-08

Democrat of Florida, has asked
to investigate whether present
with developments in the flying
industry.
The answer is a clear no. The
why" of it is something else
again.
Of and on for the past 10
years the people concerned with
flying have been warning that
the air space over the United
States is becoming overcrowded.
Already there are 10000 active
aircraft in operation. Since 1850
there have been Sc air collisions
in the United States.
They have been warning. too,
that the present control system,
while safe, is being outmoded
rapidly by high speed, high alti-
tude planes. The complaint is
that the system depends on voice
radio control, eats up air space
and doesn't provide broad
enough supervision. Only is per
cent of all the air traffic now
flies under controlled conditions.
Warning Given in 1914
AS far back as February, 1914,
the then head of the Civil Aero
nautics Administration, Charles
Stanton, was warning of the need
to improve control equipment
Immediately after the war.
Last December the air facili-
ties study group headed by Will
liam B.. Harding. Wall street
banker, reported to the Budget
Bureau:
Our present traffic control
system is incapable of handling
all the traffic that operates in
good weather and any attempt to
require all traffic to fly at all
times under positive control with
tools now available would be
chaotic"
The control system now used
by the CAA was set up in 1886
Friday was the goth anniver-
sary. 1t is essentially a manual
system Of tracing the progress
of aircraft along $4,000 miles
of controlled air space. All
plane locations are posted by
hand from information received
by radio checks.
Mr.. Hardin's group concluded !:
This obsolescent system is far
too slow and too cumbersome to
handle today's high speed, high
density air traffic"
System Outmoded
The CAA control system. called
Federal Always. was established
primarily to handle 160-mile-
per-hour DC3s. Now it is being
asked to carry planes with a
cruising speed Of 800 miles per
hour. The jet age in CONNER
cial aviation will begin in 1859
when the air lines begin taking
delivery on a billion dollars worth
of neutrality-suspicious. plus tur-
bine powered aircraft.
The commercial airlines can
foresee the day. and that not too
far in the future, when coast
to-coast flights will be made at
1000 miles per hour. Mean
while, supersonic speeds by mil
itary aircraft are commonplace.
The future needs Of the avia-
ton industry. by the way, cur
rently are being studied by a
special presidential committee
headed by Edward P. Curtis,
former Kodak Co. official from
Rochester. N. Y. 1t will be an
other 10 months, though, before
his report is ready.
AS for the here and now, H. s
Chandler, deputy chief of Federal
Always, said the situation was
something like trying to regu-
late todays powerful automobiles
over horse and buggy highways
along with the horse and
buggy.
Mr.. Chandler also said there
is stuff on the shelf-electroniC
gear already developed-capable
OF providing faster and safer
control of planes.
Money Poses Problem
The big problem at CAA 1,
money. though no one will stanc
still for direct quotation. One
official said. I'VE simply cant
talk about money at this time
There are too many other inter.
ests involved"
In the records OF the Senate
Commerce Committee are figure.
introduced by Senator Schoeppel
Republican Of Kansas, indicating
the money problem.
In 1850 the CAA asked fol
1927 million for navigation aids
The Commerce Department cut
that request to $67.2 million. TIL,
budget bureau whitfield it tt
1922 million. Congress actually
appropriated $37.5 million.
For fiscal 1856 the CAA re.
quested $26.5 million. Congress.
set aside SIG million.
1t was not until this year that
Congress got around to approx.
ing a $246 million construction
program for control and naviga.
ton aids to be spent over fiv,
years. The first $40 million will
be spent for longe-range radal
to control flying above 24,00l
feet. which presently is limiteC
to military flights. Eventually
radar control will be lowered t.
$4,000 feet.
Money for research has beer
very limited. In no year sine,
l947 has the CAA received IL
excess of $l.8 million for devel
oping new gear.
Air Force Expenditure
Meanwhile. the Air Force ha
spent SO billion on a system
which can track and identif,
any plane in the air anvwher,