Aucbvax.5160 fa.space utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!space Fri Nov 13 03:41:42 1981 SPACE Digest V2 #33 >From OTA@S1-A Fri Nov 13 02:59:21 1981 SPACE Digest Volume 2 : Issue 33 Today's Topics: Clipping Service - Alternative presents in Aviation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 11 November 1981 21:54 est From: Schauble.Multics at MIT-Multics Subject: Clipping Service - Alternative presents in Aviation To: Space at MIT-AI, Poli-Sci at MIT-AI [This item is an excerpt from the November 1981 issue of Reason, a conservative political journal. It is a sidebar to an article on goverment vs. private means of developing industry in space. Poli-Sci is getting a copy because the recent discussion has been on govermental vs. private means of doing all sorts of things. This item may be considered a fantasy. Then again...] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Imagine... Dawn is breaking over the plains of Kansas, a glorious spring morning in 1982. The rising sun gilds a few clouds in an otherwise clear sky. In a backyard behind an old, weatherbeaten Midwestern farmhouse is an incongruous scene: a cluster of modern trailers, with cables running in all directions, and a large crowd of doers and onlookers, engineers, reporters, and cameramen. One of the network reporters is conducting an interview with an older man, clearly by dress and demeanor a Senior Official. Reporter Intro: Good morning, Americans. We are here in Owl's Eye, Kansas, to witness another chapter in the forward march of science and technology, the controversial and long-awaited "next step" in America's costly and exciting conquest of the air. Today, finally, if all goes well, we will see the National Air Administration's controversial Sky Shuttle aircraft perform its first applications mission as part of NAA's "Skydust" program, in which the mammoth aircraft will swoop down over the fields of farmer Ed Shultz and spray them with pesticides. With us today is NAA's deputy director, Buzz Wingnut, who will be answering some of the tough questions which have come up about NAA and the Sky Shuttle. Buzz, what are the chances of success of today's mission? Official: Well, Jules, all the indications are good. The weather is right, the aircraft, aside from a few minor problems, is in good condition, and the crew is in excellent spirits. It sure looks like we have a "go". Reporter: What about the rotor problems? Everybody knows that the rotors have been giving you trouble ever since the start of the Sky Shuttle program. Critics have charged that there is still a serious chance they'll fall off. Official: I can assure you that the rotors will not fall off this time. The rotor problem has definately been solved. Reporter: Some critics have questioned the whole idea of having a set of rotors on an airplane, saying that the idea of an aircraft that can take off vertically \and/ fly 10,000 miles at supersonic speeds is unnecessarily complicated. Could these missions be better performed by separate aircraft? Official: Jules, this kind of talk puts our entire technology development system in question. I might point out that each of those requirements you mentioned, as well as others -- such as the ability to land on both land and water, the ability to perform aerobatic maneuvers, and the ability to fly at treetop level -- were inputted to NAA by responsible sectors of the government. There is no doubt that each of these capabilities is needed by the nation's aviation-using sector. As for the idea of developing a separate aircraft for passenger, cargo, defense, and scientific purposes, such talk is the height of irresponsibility. What with the cost overruns and time delays which were unavoidably encountered by the Sky Shuttle program, there is no chance of getting Congress to appropriate funds for development of a new aircraft in this decade. Reporter: Buzz, Senator Buttermore has been highly critical of both the Sky Shuttle program in general and the Skydust experimental program in particular. He has said, and I quote, "The Skydust program has been an enormous boondoggle from the beginning. It is mearly an excuse by the NAA administrators to find new 'needs' for their services. Ask any farmer -- the idea of spraying chemicals on crops from the air as a part of day-to-day agriculture is inherently absurd. Both as a Senator and a taxpayer, I say, 'Not a penny for this nutty fantasy!'" How do you respond to that, Buzz? Official: Well, all I can say is that I am glad Queen Isabella didn't take this attitude toward Christopher Columbus. "Crop-dusting", as our boys like to call it, is an extremely promising technique, and one which today's demonstration will prove technologically feasible. The Sky Shuttle will reduce the cost of aerial application from $500,000 per acre to only $100,000 per acre. I can confidently predict that, given Congress's continued support of development funding, hundreds, maybe even thousands, of American farmers will enjoy the benefits of "crop-dusting" by the year 2000. Reporter: There have been some voices, so far a distinct minority, who have called for private operation of the aircraft program in this country, saying that private operators could do the job more efficiently. Could you say a few words on that, Buzz? Official: Well, Jules, it's hardly worth my time to answer that one, don't you think? The Sky Shuttle has cost nearly $100 billion dollars to develop. Where could a private firm raise that kind of capital? We at NAA have always valued the contributions of private industry -- we feel that the free-enterprise qualities of our contractors demonstrate exactly the kind of government-industry partnership it takes to maintain America's leadership in high technology. But romantic notions of competing "airlines" operating passenger and freight operations across the continent as if they were railroads -- that belongs in the 19th century. Aviation in America has been in sound hands ever since Congress suppressed dangerous cranks like the Wright brothers and created the predecessors of the NAA to give American wings, and let us pray to God it remains that way, Jules. I'm going to have to cut this short. The count-down is entering the final stage. Reporter: Well, thank you, Buzz and Godspeed. It's a great day to be an American. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Just as a trivia item: the current cost for crop-dusting is under $10/acre, plus cost of chemicals. ] ------------------------------ Date: 12 Nov 1981 12:35:21-PST From: E.jeffc at Berkeley To: v.space@Berkeley The reason why the discussion on private ownership of the space shuttle should be moved to poli-sci is because of the raging Libertarian battle that is going on there, and some references to space have already been made there. ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest ******************* ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.