7g4 HISTORY Ol 111! COMMUTE] ON SC1ENC1 AND TECHNOLOGY 



aeronautics program had been pretty well * * * blown apart. * * ' \1\ feeling has 

 changed considerably after listening to the testimony that you presented to this com- 

 mittee and I feel * * * the aeronautics presentation before the committee was the 

 finest I ever witnessed 



But Wydler once again deplored the " steadily declining emphasis on 

 aeronautics." He concluded: 



It seems to me by the time you reach 1978, you might as well drop the word 

 "aeronautics" (from NASA) 



vol NG sen NTISTS AND ENGINEERS APPEAR IN 1973 



An interesting and informative feature of the 19~3 hearings was 

 the appearance of young scientists and engineers from each of the 

 centers where the Aeronautics and Space Technology Office was doing 

 work — Ames, Langley, Lewis, and the Flight Research Center. These 

 young engineers and scientists described the work they were doing, 

 underlining the value which the subcommittee placed on the recruit- 

 ment of more persons of their type. Also appearing before the com- 

 mittee at Mosher's recommendation was Dr. John V. Dugan, Jr., a 

 young research physicist at Lewis Research Center, who subsequently 

 joined the committee staff to work in several different areas, including 

 energy. 



When the subcommittee had its markup, it came in with a $34 

 million increase for aeronautics, $20 million to restore work on 

 QUESTOL— the quiet experimental STOL aircraft, and $14 million 

 for aircraft noise abatement, to restore the refan retrofit program for 

 the DC-8 and 707. When the full committee met on April 17, 1973, 

 Hechler had another piece of good news: NASA had decided to follow 

 the subcommittee's 1972 recommendation and set up a separate Office 

 of General Aviation. But Hechler also reported: 



Members of the subcommittee and other Members registered strong dissatisfac- 

 tion with the continuing relatively low level of funding for aeronautics. Strong ob- 

 jections were expressed about the termination of programs considered vital to solving 

 the severe problems oi aircraft noise, safety and congestion 



By line-iteming specific increases, the subcommittee hoped that this 

 would force the necessary flight testing required for FA A rulemaking 

 on JT-8D-powered aircraft, .is well as added funds for JT 3D refan 

 retrofit. 



GETTING THE AGENCIES TO COORDINATE 



During the period when the subcommittee held annual authoriza- 

 tion hearings, which usually involved appearances by NASA, Depart- 

 ment of Defense, DOT, FAA and outside witnesses, the subcommittee 



