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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1982)
national Citrus production down across nation United Press International WASH INGTON — The Flor ida and California orange crops now are estimated by the Agri culture Department at 25 per cent below last season. In a monthly crop estimate released Monday, the depart ment’s Crop Reporting Board predicted the Florida orange Crop at 130 million boxes. The California crop estimate was 2 percent higher than last month, but a projected crop of 50 mil lion boxes would be 25 percent smaller than the 1980-81 record harvest. However, Texas orange pro duction is up 41 percent. The state’s orange production is now forecast at 6.1 million boxes, 2 percent over last month’s esti mate and 41 percent more than the 1980-1981 harvest. The U.S. orange crop was forecast at 189 million boxes. This is virtually the same as the March forecast but is 23 percent less than the 1980-81 crop. The board predicted that each box of Florida oranges will yield 1.28 gallons of juice, down from last month’s estimate of 1.29 gallons of juice and well be low a January forecast of 1.41 gallons. The Florida Valencia orange crop was expected to be 56 mil lion boxes, unchanged from the March forcast, but 16 percent below the 1980-81 crop. Early and mid-season varieties were expected to total 74 million boxes, 1 percent below the March estimate and 30 percent less than last year’s crop. California’s navel orange crop was expected to be 28 mil lion boxes and the Valencia crop was put at 22 million boxes. The department estimated the nation’s grapefruit crop at 72.7 million boxes, up 7 percent from last season’s harvest but 1 percent below the 1979-80 pro duction. The lemon crop estimate was 26.5 million boxes, down 1 per cent from last month’s forecast and 17 percent below fast sea son’s record. Citrus estimates, with last sea son’s harvest in parentheses, are: .i- APPLICATIONS FOR NAVAL FLIGHT TRAINING NOW BEING ACCEPTED Immediate openings for training in the world’s most prestigious flight school. No experience required. Juniors, seniors, college grads. All majors considered. Must be in good health and a U.S. citizen. Pilot appli cants up to age 28 Va, must have 20/20 vision. Naval Flight Officer applicants up to age SOVa, must have vision cor rectable to 20/20. Salary while in flight training $21,000, with periodic raises to $33,000 in 4 years. Many bene fits. Contact: Navy Flight Programs (At 20) 1121 Walker St. Houston, TX 77002 (713) 226-2445 (collect if necessary) FLY NAVY, THE BEST ALWAYS HAVE. Oranges: Arizona — 2.8 mil lion boxes (2.6 million), includ ing 1.9 million Valencias (1.7 million); California — 50.0 mil lion boxes (66.2 million), includ ing 22.0 million boxes (27.5 mil lion) of Valencias; Florida — 130.0 million boxes (172.0 mil lion), including 56.0 million boxes (66.8 million) of Valen cias; Texas — 6.1 million boxes (4.3 million), including 2.4 mil lion boxes (1.7 million) of Valen cias. Grapefruit: Arizona — 2.8 million boxes (2.8 million); Cali fornia — 7.9 million boxes (4.3 million); Florida — 49.0 million boxes (50.3 million); Texas — 13.0 million boxes (6.7 million). Lemons: Arizona — 7.0 mil lion boxes (7.0 million); Califor nia — 19.5 million boxes (24.8 million). Tangerines: Arizona — 850,000 boxes (700,000); Cali fornia— 1.7 million boxes (1.9 million); Florida — 2.5 million boxes (3.0 million). Estimate for other crops in cluded in the report are: — Spring potatoes: Produc tion is forecast at 943,000 metric tons, virtually unchanged from last year’s production, but 22 percent above the 1980 record low output. Robert G year’s dr TT A Air Force explains plane crashes Head dru the tryor the three Bill Pilch Thunderbird pilots not at fault Th United Press International Thunderbird One was roar ing 178 feet above the scrub- brush in the Nevada desert when Maj. Norman L. Lowry III began nosing his jet skyward into a loop at 448 mpn. Lowry, a native of Radford, Va., and a career Air Force offic er, was known as an easy-going, popular man and a pilot with a reputation of “excellent hands” and the 1 ability to “detect (flight) MR FRENCH’S NOW OPEN! WJtk HAPPY DAY — child care center — errors or deviations quickly and to take immediate action to alter the outcome.” This was Lowry’s 97th Thun derbird practice mission since he took command of the air de monstration team in September 1981. The team’s mission on Jan. 18 started with an 8:40 a.m. brief ing. The weather was dear over Indian Springs Field. At 9:10 a.m. the pilots climbed into their cockpits and began their pre- I flight checks. Lowry, 37, took off at 9:35 a.m. The team performed seven aerobatic manuevers during the I next 18 minutes. At 9:53 a.m., Lowry and his wingmen began their eighth manuever, a line-abreast loop. Within one minute, four of the world’s best pilots were dead. Lowry’s teammates who died with him were Capt. William T. Mays, Ripley, Tenn. left wing- At 9:53 a.m., Lowry and his wingmen began their eighth manuever, a line-abreast loop. Within one minute, four of the world’s best pilots were dead. Bring your child and visit our professional staff in our new Ultra Modem Facility!! Conveniently located in Southwood Valley off FM 2818. 1024 Balcones Drive Day Care — Infants — Pre-School 69G-9062 After School Care — Kindergarten Music and Ballet ‘Almost better than Grandma’s!’ Top Drawer from Basics to Designers Levi* - Sedgefieid - Lee - Bill Blass - Calvin Klein - Ocean Pacific - Jockey - Stanley - Blacker - Esprit - Jordache - and more. man; Capt. Joseph N. Peterson III, Tuskegee, Ala., right wing- man; and Capt. Mark E. Malan- con, Dallas, slot pilot. What happened? Why? Some of the answers are in a thick accident investigation re port made public this month by the Air Force. The Air Force conclusion: mechanical failure and follow- the-leader training caused the accident. The mechanical prob lem was a jammed stabilizer on the tail of Lowry’s plane. GLUM INI WHITE A.IMIM ,.■ . v * : '* •; v. ' HANKINS VOTE APRIL'laps SENIOR BANQUET OR THE FORMER STUDENT OFFICE mim t- M S C Cinema^ p R E S E N 1' s de Broca's delightful MTfAS TONIGHT! Wednesday, April 14 ^ $1.50 with TAMU ID ^7:30 pm 601 Rudder THIvH €UROP€ For as little as $ 16 a day... from an Irish Farmhouse to a Medieval Castle, CONTIKI TOURS is all about young people hav ing fun on a budget! 693-2689 firftn BBSS** American Fbssenger Travel Agency CULPEPPER PlflZfl What happened in the last seconds of Lowry's life? Through the report, it’s possible to reasonably reconstruct those moments. The shoulder harness re strained Lowry at the top of the loop as he flew 6,692 feet above the Nevada desert. He was up side down at 161 miles per hour in a twin-engine T-38A Talon jet. The forces of speed and gravity exerted an invisible bear hug on him. So far, so good. Lowry had hit the first half of the loop at 448 miles per hour, within font- seconds had climbed to 3,400 feet and slowed to 334 mph. From there he “floated over the top” — the loop’s halfway point. He undoubtedly felt the familiar tickle, a slight vibration of the airframe. It was his signal to pull back the control stick be tween his knees to coax the jet out of the loop. It was at the halfway point that the malfunction occurred. The malfunction never showed up in the “feel" of his stick, the crash report said. Black digits on the altimeter stopped increasing, hung for a moment, then reversed direc tion and began decreasing — 1 normal for an aircraft that just went from climbing to leveling to diving. Seconds later, the Talon’s nose was pointed straight down in a 90-degree dive. Lowry was at 3,592 feet and flying 357 miles pet hour. For the first time, he saw the brown desert directly below him and apparently recognized that he was headed down too last and turning too slow. He had less than six seconds to grasp the danger and what to do about it. Those si*sm would take him to8O0[#J no return point for pullinl of a steep dive. BelowlhauH was nothing any pilotoraf| could do. Lowry tried. He wresg the t hrottle hack to ciilijl He braced both handsaiti the control stick, snatdil back with all his strew had to exert 115 po® to stop a mat pressure to pull it hackadij jfr’ ornan ' ns ‘dt would go. “They wit they shouldr Low.y despegite « fflcer at the worked, but t<x> late. | i X)C i v . l ht ' l alon roa.dpas[|^ )U n d in a ci ieet in a 50-degree’divei: United Pr NEW YOR Samaritans - ployees — we on a desolate i Manhattan pi tan alley Tu said they wet One had been transls; ^ ee j( s i ie u;t from an aircraft into a IxW h ac ] been abcl Less than one .second' Theemplo Lowry plunged past tlnF* engineers — s Cars about 6 p What Why? Biey saw eith happet °'- abduaio. woman takin] age on Pier ( . foot “no return” point tl degree dive. Lowry kepi® but at 670 feet, the Taltl was in a 40-degree dive.| Three-tenths of a sect ter, Lowry plummeted feet. That’s where the Tin birds were supposed tobti level. But Lowry was in degree dive. In another 1.3 s«| Thunderbird One M ground tail first at478ril| hour. Norman Lowry hadrtfl more than 3,925 hoursolf time. That’s nearly 12 seconds. He flew the last onds in a deathloop. Ord I gun SENIOR WEEKEND ’8 Bash: Hall of Fame April 30, 8-12 p.m. United Pre: ELY, Minr Council has g approval to a ordinance reqi woman and cf ; The ordin; as a protest ag and other fort intrusion, May said. / The 5,000 are sensitive ti terference bee federal restrict motorized veh goring Bound; Area. » Kennesaw, an ordinance ownership. All think the Ely C I ginal, Babeau yielding to a gi that will sweep jf Last year, IV passed an ordi guns within Bibeau said tl not suited for ■ “They’ve t Banquet: Duncan Dining Hall May 1, 6:30 p.m. Ring Dance: MSC & Rudder Exhibit Hall May 1, 9 p.m.-1 Tickets & Information: MSC Box Office 1st Floor 845-1234 f