The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 2

2-A Friday. Aug. 21. 1981 Philadelphia Inquirer New faces: A look inside the tower at city airport i 0.0 -Av u- miirnrrr -n ft 1 inn hum i mf mmmimmm, mmtm mtmm i -yt-r, -rr TOWER, from 1A were two views. Peering through the binoculars toward the highway, one could see picketing controllers, whose leaflets warned travelers that the skies are unsafe.

A glance up and to the north revealed a stream of airplanes making their final approaches to the airfield. What has been going on in the tower coupled with President Reagan's hard line toward the strikers makes it appear less and less likely that the pickets and the airplanes will ever do business with each other again. Four members of the Air Force and four civilians worked in the tower overlooking the airport's three runways yesterday morning. There are 30 military personnel assigned, here now, augmenting 14 supervisors and controllers who did not join the strike. P.

Hamill, deputy chief for the FAA in Philadelphia, said the tower was now fully staffed with controllers working regular eight-hour shifts. They are handling 50 to 60 flights an hour and can continue to handle that load indefinitely, he said. Unless the Reagan administration reverses its decision to fire the strikers, the interim staff might have to hold out for a year or two before a fresh batch of controllers is trained. Hamill contended that the skies are safe and that as the military con-, trollers gain expertise with each passing day, they are getting safer. tThe striking Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, in a leaflet being distributed at the air-port, disagreed: "We urge you to consider your personal safety before flying.

Forget that for now, and put your- self aboard a DC-10 whistling through the dark on the final leg of a flight from Boston to Philadelphia. 7 You are 50 miles from home as the jet begins its descent, the stewardess is collecting the cocktail glasses and your safety is about to fall squarely into the lap of the Philadelphia tower. A International Airport controllers handle flights within a 50-mile The slew ball is a smooth glass ball, identical to those on the electronic football games in a penny arcades, and he spins it with his palm. It moves a marker across the radar screen, and he lines it up over your plane's blip. Then he "zaps" you.

He pushes a button to "interrogate the target." The altitude of your Philadelphia Inquirer MICHAEL VIOLA radius of Philadelphia plane flashes onto the screen, and the computers in your plane's cockpit lock on to those in the radar room. As you lean back and wonder whether Aunt Gertrude will be there to meet you, your pilot is listening to a tape from the tower that tells him about wind direction and weather in Philadelphia. Nothing Makes Ybu Feel More Like A Million Than A Diamond From N. Except Barsky's "FEEL UKE A MILLION" CONTEST 1 N. Barsky is giving some lucky person a chance to feel like a million ror a "Ladies and gentlemen," your pilot says over the intercom, "it is a balmy 87 degrees in Philadelphia and raining lightly." As you groan about the weather, your pilot is establishing direct contact with the controller, who tells him what altitude and course to maintain.

In addition to plotting planes under his control, the controller keeps spinning his slew ball to "interrogate" other planes. Nationwide, the FAA recorded 128 "critical" close calls in mid-air in 1979. Your controller carefully watches the altitude of other planes in your area. If there is a backup over Philadelphia, the controller will direct your plane into a holding pattern. If not, you'll feel the plane nose toward the runway.

Another "handoff" has taken place. Your plane is now in the hands of the controllers in the tower's glass box. They have begun to talk to your pilot and finally clear you for landing. Out the window, you can see the runway lights. "We are now on our final approach," the stewardess says.

"Please remain in your seat once we have landed until the plane comes to a halt at the arrival gate." You feel the bump and skid of touchdown; the thrust of the engines is reversed to slow the hurtling plane, and your blip is gone from the screen. Up in the tower, a controller is directing your plane down the proper runways. "Welcome to Philadelphia," the stewardess says. 1 aay. Barsky service.

pendant, plus more. 71 town selections and more Moderate dresses During August pick up an entry blank at N. Record decline in real U.S. income fueled by inflation and recession and see how you can win a limousine cleaning service, dinner, show, diamond make-over, a day's interest on a 51,000.000, Working in the darkness, "We are now approaching Philadelphia International Airport," the stewardess announces, "We expect to be on the ground in Philadelphia in 10 minutes. Please buckle your seat belt and puryour trays in the upright, locked position." Deep in the bowels of the Philadelphia airport in a room without windows, where it is too dark to read the progress of your plane is being captured by a sweeping arm on a green radar screen.

It is a popular misconception that the people who do business in the little glass box of the control tower are the shepherds of the skies. Actually, their job is to clear planes for takeoff, and they take control of incoming traffic only when it is within a mile of the airport. But your plane has been tracked by FAA controllers every mile of the way between Boston and Philadelphia. It might be a blow to hometown cans below the federal poverty level, from 11.7 percent in 1979 to 13 percent of the population last year. Inflation raised the poverty level from $7,412 in 1979 to $8,414 in 1980 for a non-farm family of four.

About 6.2 million families 29.3 million individuals were classified as poor last year. The sharp drop in real family income last year was the first significant dip since the declines of 4 percent and 2.6 percent in 1974 and 1975, respectively, and the biggest since the government started compiling such statistics in 1947. And it showed few favorites. Families of all races were hit, whether they had male or female breadwinners or one of each. The decline struck city and farm families alike, and was felt in all four of the nation's main geographic areas.

An exception was for families with no wage-earners at all; they did not suffer as much of a drop in real income "in part because income such as Social Security, supplemental security and other retirement income are indexed to changes in consumer prices," the report said. White families continued to make much more money than non-whites, with a real median 1980 income of $21,900. That compared with $14,720 for Hispanic-American families and $12,670 for blacks. But all lost ground to inflation. Just come in and fill out an entry blank: No purchase necessary.

Contest closes August 31, 1981. Everyone can feel like a million by taking 10 off of any jewelry (over $200) purchased during this period. N. BARSKY SONS 724 Sansom Street, Philadelphia WA 5-0980 Free Parking 804 Sansom St 8ti walnut St Mijor Ctwge Cards Accepted written guarantee diamond certificate with each purchase Graduate Gemologiu in Residence pride, but much of the airspace over Philadelphia is controlled by New York. The Philadelphia tower directs traffic into international airport and surrounding small airfields, but once a plane climbs above 8,000 feet, it takes its orders from controllers based in a massive center on Long Island.

As your plane enters the 50-mile radius served by the Philadelphia tower and dips below 8,000 feet, New York "hands off" to a local controller, who is hunched over a tire-size screen in the murky radar room. Your plane is one of 70 to 100 little blips moving across that screen. The controller punches the right code into a lighted green and orange keyboard, and a number appears by the blip that is your plane. Once a controller has received the handoff, the computer automatically enters his code letter beside that number, and- he begins to spin his "slew ball." The reference to median income means about half the nation's families had income above that level and about half below it. The authors of the report cautioned that the figures reflect only money income, which they said "is not always an accurate reflection of economic well-being, since many persons non-cash benefits such as food stamps, public housing, medical care, employer contributions for pension plans and others." Some other points made in the report: Many Americans born in the baby-boom era of 1946-65 have been entering the job market in the last few years, holding down average earnings because of their lack of experience.

As they age and gain experience in the 1980s, "an upward influence on income levels should result." Also holding down median income, and likely to continue to do so in the 1980s, is the increasing percentage of households headed by women with no husband present, up from 11 percent in 1970 tt) 15 percent in 1980. Without commenting on possible reasons, the report said that "these families tend to have considerably lower incomes than married couples and constitute a very large share of the poverty population." fashion report Jenlonfown coll 885-6I. By Robert Furlow AsuxiaUdPrea 7 WASHINGTON Despite increases i'ti the dollar value of earnings, the real income of American families, after squeezing out the effects of inflation, fell more than 5 percent last fear, the biggest plunge since the government began keeping track in 1947, a new report said yesterday. coupled with the recession of the spring of 1980, was the main culprit, the Census Bureau reported. The weak economy held down wage gains, and inflation more than wiped out what gains were made.

Median family income for all Americans in 1980 actually rose 7.3 percent, to about $21,020. But that translated into a 5.5 percent decline in real terms after discounting for inflation, the report said. The Consumer Price Index increased by 13.5 percent in 1980, far outstripping the actual increase in the income of American families during the year. Median family income, after subtracting inflation's effect, had been virtually unchanged in 1979. One result of the 1980 squeeze was an increase in the number of Ameri- Lotteries Pennsylvania DAILY Aug.

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The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of aH local news printed this newspaper as wefl AP news dispatches. MAIL SUBSCRIPTION RATES ZONES 12 yr 6 mo 3 mo. mo 6a4ySundty $15000 $79SO $41 75 $1450 OWvOniy 9200 48 75 25 75 900 Sunday Orty 68 00 30 75 16 00 5 50 Payable in advance For all other rates apply Mail subscription Department Second Class Postage paid at Phila. Pa POSTMASTE send address changes to: The Philadelphia Inquirer 400 North Broad Street Philadelphia PA 1910) Classified Ads LO 3 5000 Report News (215)854-2500 Other Departments (215)854 2000 For Guaranteed Home Oelivery. or to report a delivery problem, call toll fret In Philadelphia 665-1234 In Pennsylvania (800) 222-2765 In New Jersey (8001 523-9068 In Delaware Lord Ami, off? fashion selections Designer sportswear Fashion jewelry, Handbags, Women's shoes And, 15 to off Furniture selections for the home Hurry in for the selection of your choice nof every style in every color and size.

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