European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 12, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Faa defends system tuesday november 12, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 17 the safest Way to travel by h. Josef Hebert associated press w Hile acknowledging problems in air gaiety the chairman of the National transportation safety Board says that airliners am still the safest Way to travel and the Public should not be unduly alarmed by the rash of aviation accidents this year. But Nosb chairman Jim Burnett told the Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee recently that the Federal aviation administration has failed to respond to changes brought on by airline deregulation including the rapid increase in the number of Small airlines and air traffic. He said Faa inspectors Are not Only too Lew in number but olten have a very gentlemanly relationship with the airlines they Are supposed to Monitor. Breakdowns in communications and coordination among air traffic controllers especially in towers of Busy airports also remain very disturbing he said. The hearing had been called to examine air safety issues against a backdrop of an unprecedented string of airline accidents worldwide that has claimed More than 1,600 lives this year. Asked whether air travel was Sale. Burnett whose Agency investigates airline accidents replied i Don t think there s any basis Lor the consumer to be alarmed Over a degradation of  Faa administrator Donald Engen testifying separately also disputed suggestions that the rash of accidents reflect a less Sale aviation system. Engen promised to Bear Down on airlines to assure that they follow Federal air safety regulations. But Engen rejected a suggestion that the Faa might have to restrict the number of planes allowed into the air. Various air safety experts and some members of Congress have raised concern that the number and experience level of air traffic controllers May be insufficient to Deal with the Busy flow of traffic brought on by deregulation and a rising Economy. The Faa Plant to hire another 1,000 controllers Over the next two years but several witnesses agreed that the problem stems not Only from the number of controllers but their Lack of seasoning. Taking care of Peak traffic loads takes seasoned controllers. And it s certainly not As yet a seasoned Lorce said Larry Jones who headed a detailed examination of the Faa s air traffic control system alter More than 10,000 controllers were lived Lor staging an illegal strike in 1981 i Don t see Why the air traffic control system should t be under More stress today Jones said noting that airlines still focus Many of their lights into congested airports during Peak travel hours. Meanwhile a general accounting Ollice Survey of 5.000 working controllers concluded that most believe they Are handling too Many air planes during Peak hours and that the heavy workload is adversely affecting the safety of the system nearly Lour of every 10 supervisors shared that opinion said Herbert r. Mclure. Who conducted the Jorvey for the Gao. An investigative Arm of Congress. But Engen said the How of air planes is still being hold under some control to keep controllers of suddenly being faced with a Rush of aircraft. We there Are nearly 2,000 fewer controllers today than Deiure the strike their productivity has increased because they spend mor time actually handling air planes he said. An internal review of the government s inspection program concluded that the nation has too few nirl re safety inspectors and inadequate training programs 1� keep up with rapid aviation Industry changes the number of inspectors has been deficient for several years inspection procedures often ate inf Viencent. And they vary around the country. Over Washington no nil. A return to propellers by Andrew Pollack new York times w Hen Jet planes replaced propeller driven planes in the 1950s, it was considered a great leap Forward in aviation. Now. The next major Advance i aircraft engine design is a surprising one a return to propellers. The new engines known As prep an engines or Ultra High bypass engines Promise a 40 percent to 50 percent savings in fuel Over existing Jet engines. Both Boeing and Mcdonnell Douglas say they will have planes using such engines on the Market in the Early 1990s. Boeing is planning to test Fly a prep an engine next year and Mcdonnell Douglas plans one in 1987 in their tests both will use an engine developed by general electric that had its first ground tests two months ago. We re banking a tremendous amount of Money on the tact that everything looks Good so far said Walter j. Orlowski manager of Mcdonnell Douglas s program to develop the prep an plane. The National aeronautics and space administration is also working on such engines with Lockheed As its major contractor and a test flight using a Gulf Stream air plane is scheduled Lor 1987. Others Are also working on the new engines. Propellers have always been More fuel efficient than Jet propulsion. But jets nevertheless won out Lor commercial aircraft because they were faster. Until he Oil Price increases of the 1970s, fuel costs were not a concern. The prep an engine promises to provide the Ellic ency of propellers in a plane that can travel As last As jets. Advances in engine and propeller design now make possible propellers that can function Al High speeds. The prop fan propeller Bear Little resemblance to the traditional Long thin Sticks. The be propellers Are Shorter and Stubbie More Bent and More numerous than usual propellers. They also Are on the rear of the engine rather than the front. And they Are arranged in two rows that rotate in opposite directions. The Back Row takes the swirl out of Tho air caused by the Iron Row increasing efficiency. Both propellers and Jet engines work by pushing air backward which thrusts the plane Forward. Rotating propellers however push a Large amount of air backward relatively slowly. Jet engines known As Turbojet. Thrust a smaller amount of air backward very quickly an approach that requires More Energy. They do this by compressing the air. Igniting it with the fuel and thrusting it violently out through a Turbine and the Back nozzle. But since Turbojet appeared engine design has slowly been turning Back toward the use of propellers. Today s jets use a Type of engine known As a Turbofan. Which combines elements of propellers and Jet propulsion. In the Turbofan some air still goes in the front is compressed and ignited Powers the Turbine and is thrust out the Back. But there is also a fan powered by the Turbine that blows air around the engine this bypassing air provides most of the thrust Lor the plane. This All takes place inside a Shell covering the engine which provides a duct through which the air can How smoothly. The Ian. Which has Many Liny Blades thus acts like a propeller although it does not look like a propeller and to hidden irom View by the casing around the engine. But if a Little air bypassing the engine adds to Ellic ency Why not build a bigger Ian to bypass even More air achieving yet More efficiency this is the idea behind the Ultra High bypass engine. But As the fan becomes larger it becomes More practical to use fewer larger Blades rather than Many tiny ones and the larger the fan gets the bigger and heavier Tho Shell or duct around the engine gets until it becomes so heavy it must be discarded. Hence be Calls its engine an inducted Tan engine. In any Case the Ian again looks like a propeller and is Back out in the open. While to people see potential for the new engines serious problems remain both technical and commercial and Many doubt such engines will be ready anytime soon. There could still be a showstopper cautioned Tadry a. Domagala a vice president of Pratt & Whitney a major engine manufacturer. One potential problem is the noise caused by the propellers which could disturb passengers As Well As those living near airports. There Are also potential safety problems from vibrations that can weaken the fuselage or irom unshielded propeller Blades