July 14, 1958

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BUSINESS FLYING

Sailplanes Gain Popularity Through Safety, Low Costs

Elmira, N. Y.—Low operating cost, learning ease and safety of the modern sailplane have encouraged increasing participation in a sport-art-science that is a challenge both to the beginner and to the licensed glider or airplane pilot. Soaring is attracting a gradually widening circle of adherents.

By Robert I. Stanfield14 min

MANAGMENT

Stever Group Urges Usaf R&d Shift

Washington—Broad reorganization and changes in management procedures to bolster basic Air Force policy and improve direction of its research and development programs have been proposed by the ad hoc Stever Committee of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board.

By J. S. Butz12 min

AVIONICS

Airborne Spiral Antennas Minimize Drag

Dayton—Discovery of a fundamentally new type of antenna, which can operate efficiently over a wide range of frequencies, is sparking a minor revolution in the design of antennas for electronic countermeasures (ECM) use, particularly for airborne ECM.

By Philip J. Klass9 min

MANAGMENT

Navy Asks Industry Aid in Asw Battle

With Task Force ALFA—Navy is seeking urgent help from industry in a money-short effort to develop reliable equipment that will find, track and destroy an enemy submarine with reasonable assurance of success. Navy’s push and its willingness to finally openly admit that it has a serious problem were born from knowledge that missile-bearing submarines are beginning to slide down Soviet ways and the even surer knowledge that the U.S. has no reliable means of stopping them in time of war.

By Cecil Brownlow8 min

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

Industry Studies Transport Area Rule

Washington—Modified area rule developed by Richard Whitcomb of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is attracting wide interest as a possible means of increasing the cruise speed of existing turbojet transports by 50 mph.

By J. S. Butz8 min

126

Letters

In the June 16 Research for Space Edition (p. 72-73) you show Neptune 270,000M mi. Its mean distance is actually 30.07 astronomical units corresponding to a mean distance of 2,796M mi. Pluto’s mean distance is 3,675M mi.—its aphelion distance 4,589M mi.—its perihelion distance 2,761M mi., which is 49M mi. less than Neptune’s at perihelion (due to Pluto’s eccentricity which is 0.249).

EDITORIAL

Mats Needs An Overhaul

The Military Air Transport Service badly needs a basic overhaul to really perform the vital military airlift job required by the Army, Navy and Air Force for adequate logistic support in peacetime and for combat operations. MATS is not now providing either the type or quantity of aerial logistics required for the era of hydrogen weapons and supersonic delivery systems.

By Robert Hotz4 min

July 71958

July 211958

July 14, 1958

July 14, 1958

F8u Design Provides Navy with Family of Supersonic Carrier Fighters

By Craig Lewis15 min