Word: faa
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...which figures that U.S. passengers wasted 10 million man-hours just waiting (see box). Some of this congestion was caused by the 32,-310 military aircraft and some by the airliners themselves, but most of it by the 104,706 light planes stacked up in rush-hour traffic. The FAA estimates that at the nation's 9,950 airports only 17.6% of the takeoffs and landings are made by commercial planes, while 77.8% are made by smaller private and executive planes. At major metropolitan airports, the percentages for these "general aviation" planes run lower but are still great enough...
...would be hard-pressed to find a competent acoustician, heart specialist or surgeon who would find the startle of the sonic boom acceptable to society. Air routes that avoid populated areas and economists who agree with the FAA are equally rare...
...face the Concorde-and eventually the SST-before it can go into commercial competition. One big potential stumbling block is the fact that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration must pass on the plane-and should it find the Concorde not air worthy, the French would surely complain that the FAA was dragging its feet to let the Boeing model catch up. The FAA is particularly wary of the fuel and noise problems. Four powerful Olympus engines consume great quantities of jet fuel, requiring reserves that will add weight and cut down on income. Just how much fuel will be need...
Clearing the Cabin. Coddling of passengers goes just so far, though, and the airlines have yet to devise baggage rules that keep everybody happy. Because too many people have been sneaking aboard with everything from caged pets to rubber trees and stuffed elk heads, the FAA last month flatly prohibited carry-on luggage too big to fit beneath seats (which generally accommodate packages 9 in. high, 13 in. wide, 23 in. long). As one result, American Airlines has stocked O'Hare Airport in Chicago with hundreds of cardboard containers for items plucked from their customers' arms. As another...
Accidents Will Happen. Novel designs come in for closer scrutiny, but even so, the Federal Aviation Administration is inclined to be permissive. "This is a free country," explains FAA Inspector Jim Donathan. "Guys can break their necks if they want to. Our job is to be sure they don't kill somebody on the ground." Still, accidents happen, particularly in the hairy sport of pylon racing. While cutting a tight turn around a 55-ft.-high pylon, a plane may pull up to six G.s even as it is being subjected to severe turbulence from the prop wash...