In this issue technically: 12th DASC report-our archaic airtransport control: What can be done?

Commercial airplanes in the Fiji archipelago fly straight from take-off to their destination, using global-positioning-satellite (GPS) receivers. So can general-aviation airplanes in the United States. Commercial airplanes on U.S. transcontinental routes fly dog-legs from city to city. An airplane flying across the Atlantic occupies an exclusive 10,000-cubic-mile moving box. These practices, plus waiting for take-off and landing opportunities, cost United Airlines $2 billion a year. The available USAF flight-management technology is reviewed to see what can be adapted for use in management of the commercial air-space. The problems and plans for implementing a seamless world-wide flight management system, are examined