No 'clunker' of a subsidy

‘Cash for Clunkers” was a smashing economic-stimulus success or a bureaucratic nightmare that wasted taxpayer money, depending on whose analysis of the just-completed federal initiative you believe.

Regardless, the $3 billion the government spent on the program would have a broader, much longer-lasting effect on the nation's economy and transportation infrastructure if a similar amount were invested into a pending new air traffic control system, say two major figures in the aerospace industry.

Clay Jones, CEO of Rockwell Collins, and Marian Blakey, head of Aerospace Industries Association, make a compelling argument.

They outlined their case to The Gazette Editorial Board last week when Blakey, who served five years as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration chief before taking the industry job two years ago, was in town to promote stronger math and science education.

Jones and Blakey say the nation should advance implementation of the Next-Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). It would use the existing global satellite network instead of relying on ground-based radar. The FAA decided in 2005 that a technology called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) was proved capable of supporting NextGen. The target date for launching the national system is 2020.

That's too long to wait on improving safety, security and efficiency in the nation's increasingly overburdened aviation infrastructure, Jones and Blakey said. Their pitch: NextGen implementation could be advanced by five years if the government would subsidize the ADB-S equipment airlines need to operate in the NextGen system. Most airlines are struggling to make ends meet, especially in the recession, and don't have the money to buy high-tech communications equipment that Rockwell could supply.

Yes, that's the self-serving angle for Rockwell. But it also would serve our community and state's economic and employment interests if this leading company were to land such a contract.

And more broadly and importantly, it could serve the interests of anyone who relies on air travel. Consider that annual U.S. passenger traffic is expected to increase about 45 percent to 1 billion by 2015 - raising the specter of even more delays and close calls in our skies. Among NextGen's touted advantages:

l Improves traffic capacity of major airports by 40 percent

l Reduces fuel usage and therefore emissions by 15 percent.

l Cuts costs to operate our national airspace system and reduces high-stress workloads on air traffic controllers

l No radar dead zones; greater flight predictability.

Bottom line for the traveler if those benefits materialize: Fewer delays and enhanced safety.

And no clunkers required to fuel the deal.