Friday, September 20, 1985/n~he Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
A&M prof tests old concept
Propeller power explored
By BECKY BARRET
Reporter
Rising jet fuel costs are causing
1 av i at i on industry to take a
TA t' * iew bnk at an °ld concept — air-
planes powered by propellers.
AMBNewly designed counterrotat-
ihg propellers, shown to be more
fuel efficient and almost as pow
erful as jet engines, could replace
nFf£4y|tandard jet engines within eight
THc ^jlo 10 years, says Dr. Kenneth
APF ^ or l < ' an > a Texas A&M aerospace
/~T Hi Engineering professor.
ii p«. jrWe have taken the concept of
the traditional propeller with two
Bides and have expanded it to
indude two propellers with six
Bdes,” Korkan says. “The two
propellers moving in opposite di-
Btions capture energy normally
lost in single propellers moving in
one direction.”
■The eventual use of these pro-
Bllers by airlines will lower fuel
ts by one-third, thus reducing
isenger cost significantly, Kor-
i says.
■Although counterrotating pro-
" rs have been used extensi
vely by the Soviets for 30 years, it
Was not until three years ago that
B air industry in the United
States took a renewed interest in
the system, he says.
■Since then, A&M has received
Beral grants from companies
for research and testing of the
Bnterrotating propeller system.
■Although airplanes with coun-
Brotating propellers cannot ex-
Bt to go as fast as a 747 or other
Bge jets, they can match the
Bed of smaller jets and are able
■climb and descend faster, pos-
■ly reducing travel time, Kor
ku i says.
iThep ropellers are made of va-
■us fiber composites, making
tht u thinner and lighter than
10 benefiJ l odo L rn,eta I 1 - . . ^
, II ■Korkan, along with graduate
a Alnai« c | ents j 0 j in Qazzaniga and Jav-
e majonl j er (Jamba, is primarily involved
no form of* propeller performance, noise
Jnited NatuBuction and de-icing proce-
ndemned'lures,
it of its t
lajorityrulej
ps d'etat
continent,
vilian onef
s governmal
otential dcrl
iy disastrouil
$ts
propeller testing rig
designed and built by Gazzaniga
and former student Carl Cornell
is used in many of the experi
ments. The model rig was the
first of its kind in the country and
took the students only seven
months to construct.
Because there are only a few
propeller models in the country,
Korkan says the rig would cost
$300,000 in the open market.
By placing the rig in a carefully
created acoustic environment,
tests can be done to reduce the
sound levels, he says.
“The theory involved in coun
terrotating propellers is very
challenging,” Korkan says, “but
the experimentation can be very
dangerous due to the high speed
of the blades.”
The future use of redesigned
propellers for aircrafts has gener
ated international interest, with
the French, British and Japanese
conducting their own experi
ments.
Major companies, such as Gen
eral Electric Co., Boeing Co. and
Lockheed Aircraft Corp. also are
testing counterrotating pro
pellers.
“Some people may not trust
the propeller powered airplanes
at first, but the reduction in cost
of air travel should speed accep
tance,” Korkan says.
Planes with counterrotating
propellers have been experi
mented with before in the United
States, Korkan says, but they were
dismissed due to high noise levels
and an extremely complicated
gear box that needed frequent re
placing.
Seat belt law
may decrease
insurance rates
Associated Press
AUSTIN — The State Board of
Insurance looked for help Thursday
in trying to figure out what the man
datory seat belt law means to auto in
surance rates.
Board members heard testimony
on its staff recommendation for an
average 1.3 percent statewide de
crease in those rates. Part of the de
crease is due to the new seat belt law.
As a result of a law approved this
year, Texans riding in the front seat
of vehicles must wear seat belts. State
officials expect the law to greatly re
duce deaths and injuries in wrecks.
Gaylon Daniel, the board’s staff
actuary, said his recommendation
includes a projected 15 percent cut
in losses to insurance companies as a
result of the seat belt law. He said
that prediction was based on 50 per
cent compliance with the law.
“There is not a calculation I’d say
is concrete,” he said in response to
board members’ questions. “This is a
case where judgment is involved
very heavily. We know not every
body will use seat belts.”
In New York, records showed that
seat belt usage went up to 70 percent
in the first months of that state’s
mandatory use law, according to
Daniel. However, in later months,
usage dropped to 57 percent, he
said.
While the seat belt law could mean
lower rates, a recent Texas Supreme
Court ruling could counteract some
of that decrease. The staff recom
mendation takes into account the
high court ruling that a person who
wins a personal injury lawsuit —
such as that can arise from a car
wreck —can collect interest calcu
lated back to the time of the injury.
Board Chairman Lyndon Olson
said no decision had been made on
whether the three-member panel
would rule on the auto rates Thurs
day.
The staff recommendation would
mean an overall cut of $35 million in
premiums next year. Actual premi
ums vary widely, based on type of
coverage, hometown, drivers’ age
and the type of car.
The insurance industry pushed
Thursday for a 10.6 percent average
increase, a total of $288 million.
■SS planning to reach more people
By JUNE PANG
Staff Writer
ts are oum
:ates could
without a
st year Texas A&M’s Gay Stu-
Services was embroiled in a
fell-publicized fight for official
Bmtiori on campus. But this
Jily from ar, President Marco Roberts says,
ts for overliiBis planning to make a bigger ef-
nment werfBto reach more people since the
a in 1980.W 1 > zat > on has more money and
►larxist.
s to University facilities.
k’W operate pretty much as
journalistic organizations on campus,”
7/j e fl a flaloitoots said. “We want to get more
ention.”
Roberts said he is aware of the
hostility of some students and the
University toward gays.
“We are trying to foster an atmo
sphere of cooperation,” he said.
“We’re not going to unnecessarily
criticize. I always want to cooperate
with the University.
“We are trying through forums
and bureaus to let them know what
we are all about — distribute infor
mation of what we’re doing.”
The organization’s eight years
court battle started almost by acci
dent.
Back in 1976, three men and
Correction
J A Safeway spokesperson says
ir opprev jthe wron nr information was given
African gOWto a Battalion reporter for an arti-
will remewcle on Safeway’s Touch-n-Save
ho helpeddf^ 0 PP in g machine. The article,
Riblished in Tuesday’s Battalion,
i „„rn,.,P ncorrect ly stated that customers
sole P U r P°m 0 purchase $29 worth of gro-
tons Ot Hi jcerieswill receive a coupon for $5
» it may ha ol hee groceries.
I the Amen*The article should have read:
if they donilCustomers who purchase $29
and tolose# on h of Touch-n-Save merchan
dise will receive a coupon for $5
of free groceries.
Also, the double-your-money-
back guarantee mentioned in the
article is actually a guarantee that
if, within 30 days of a purchase, a
Touch-n-Save customer finds the
same item he bought at Safeway
at a lower price somewhere else,
the customer will be refunded
double the difference.
The Battalion regrets the er-
three women responded to an ad
vertisement in The Battalion about a
national gay organization. T hey met
on campus onlv to find that the ad
vertisement was a joke. Prodded by
this false advertisement, they de
cided to start an organization them
selves.
They tried to put fliers on campus
and the fliers were torn up. When
they tried to get permission to post
fliers on campus bulletin boards to
advertise their meetings, their re
quest was rejected because they were
not recognized by the University.
“At that time, we didn’t want to be
recognized,” said Marco Roberts,
current president of GSS. “We just
wanted to put up fliers.”
In order to get the right to post
fliers, the GSS applied for recogni
tion.
In February 1977, they filed a
lawsuit in U.S. District Court. The
case went back and forth between
District Court, Circuit Court and the
Supreme Court. The District Court
ruled in favor of the GSS.
Finally, in June 1985, the Su
preme Court refused to hear the
case. The University was forced to
recognize the group.
Over the long years of the lawsuit,
Texas Human Rights Foundation
was the main supporter of the GSS,
said Roberts.
The case actually was tried only
once — in U.S. District Court in
1982 — although the appeal process
took more time.
According to Thomas Coleman,
the president of Texas Human
Rights Foundation, the attorneys
representing GSS argued the case
for free. But the University paid
GSS’s legal fees since it lost the case.
It is not known exactly how much
GSS will get, but according to Rob
erts, it is “definitely in the thou
sands.”
“There’s certainly a lot of respect
toward them,” said Roberts about
the founders of GSS. “There were a
lot more difficulties then than now.”
GSS includes several committees
which provide specific services to
gays and heterosexuals in the com
munity. The services include:
• Gayline, a telephone service
providing information, peer coun
seling and referrals for gays.
• Forum, invites speakers to talk
about gay-related issues. This semes
ter GSS plans to have three speakers.
• Speakers’ Bureau, a service for
heterosexuals which provides speak
ers for interested groups and classes
to aid in the dis cussion of gay issues.
nor jour
for The M: 1
ation .
onf'erence
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7ditor
jug Editor
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Editor
News Editors j
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-supporting I
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J w *
Come an
Join us
Welcome Back Party
sponsored by
International Student Association
Friday, Sept. 20 ^
Aggieland Inn Penthouse ^
8:00 p.m. j/
$2 members
GOTTA DANCE?
a
SOCIETY
Classes Begin This Week
For more information call:
Karen 693-3490
Cindy 260-3563
EVERYONE WELCOME!!
9
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