THE FULL-BODY SCAN LEGAL CHALLENGES
The widespread deployment and use of X-ray based full-body scanners at airports is the new norm, but critics say the machines are ineffective, can cause cancer, and overstep civil rights -- because of that, legal battles continue. In late November, the European Commission linked X-ray "backscatter" machines to a number of cancer cases and moved to ban the machines from European airports. In the U.S., one security study found that subjects could fool the machines with relative ease. Meanwhile, the TSA has taken the position that individuals randomly selected for scans must comply with exposure to the backscatter machine, or a full-body pat down. Failure to submit to either could lead to detention or a fine. While most Americans seem content to comply, one organization taking issue with the agency's claims has presented legal challenges to the manner in which the machines were put online. AVweb's Glenn Pew spoke with Ginger McCall, counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, to learn what those challenges are and what they might accomplish. More...

PODCAST: CHALLENGING THE GOVERNMENT ON FULL-BODY SCANS
In studies, full-body-scanning x-ray Backscatter machines have been found ineffective and potentially cancer-causing, and the European Commission has banned the. Here, AVweb's Glenn Pew speaks with Ginger McCall, who works with EPIC.org, an organization that has mounted legal challenges to the implementation and use of the machines.

This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation. More...

FAA FINALIZES FATIGUE RULES AMID CRITICISM
Pilots will have a 10-hour minimum rest period prior to flight duty with enough time during that period for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, according to new rules (PDF) finalized Wednesday by the FAA -- there are other details and exceptions. Cargo operators will not be subject to the new rules unless they elect to opt in. Echoing the concerns of his cargo-carrying brethren, Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association President Capt. Steve Chase said, "It is our hope that lawmakers will reconsider the cargo carrier exemption and ensure that legislation meets the original intent of 'One Level of Safety.'" The NTSB Wednesday voiced similar concerns. The fact that the final rule will not take effect immediately has earned it criticism from safety advocates, and there are other concerns about the rule's details. More...

UPS PILOTS TAKE FAA TO COURT OVER FATIGUE RULES
The Independent Pilots Association (IPA) filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of UPS pilots in an effort to force the FAA to include cargo carriers in new pilot rest rules finalized, Wednesday. The FAA saw fit to apply the new rules to passenger flights only. It found that forcing cargo carriers to adhere to the new rest rules would cost that branch of the industry $214 million. An attorney for the pilots' union cited some of the FAA's other findings -- specifically that night operations and flying through multiple time zones increase the risk of pilot fatigue. Those conditions may confront cargo pilots as often, or more often, than their passenger-carrying counterparts, and that point was not lost on the pilots' union, or its attorneys. More...

HOPE FOR FAA FUNDING EXTENSION?
Congress' inability to agree on a long-term reauthorization plan for the FAA, has led to 22 temporary funding measures and the latest one is set to expire, January 31. House and Senate leaders still disagree about labor provisions in a stalled long-term extension bill. When Congress last visited this issue in late July, a stalemate led to government inaction that resulted in a partial shutdown of the FAA. More than 4,000 FAA workers and possibly as many as 75,000 contract workers were sent on temporary furlough until Congress resolved to produce the most recent funding extension without addressing fundamental areas of disagreement. There are reports, however, that, this time, there may be cause for optimism. More...

AIR FORCE: PILOT'S FAILURE WAS FATAL
The Air Force is blaming a veteran pilot for the crash of his F-22 fighter, saying he lost control of the airplane while preoccupied with fixing the oxygen system . Capt. Jeffey Haney had his mobility and vision restricted while flying an F-22 at 38,000 feet and 1,039 KTAS, at night, and then the jet cut off his oxygen supply. According to the accident report released last week, Captain Jeffrey Haney became distracted when his oxygen system stopped delivering oxygen. After initiating a descent, he allowed his F-22 to roll past inverted, unchecked. The fighter's attitude resulted in a vertical speed of -57,800 feet per minute. Haney failed to recognize that, according to the report, and also did not activate the emergency oxygen system. Haney attempted recovery from the resultant supersonic dive with a 7.4-G pull, three seconds before impact. Conditions in the cockpit revealed by the report may contribute some telling details. More...

GARMIN RELEASES TRAINER APP FOR GTN 750
Garmin announced on Tuesday it has released a new iPad 2 trainer app for its GTN 750 hybrid navigator, downloadable from the iTunes app store for $24.99. The iPad is an especially good training device, according to Garmin spokesman Carl Wolf, because of the touchscreen, which simulates the actual GTN 750 operation. "By using this tool, pilots can interact with the trainer like they would with the device in the cockpit," Wolf said. The GTN 750 was introduced in March. More...

FAA: SPORT PILOT EXAMINERS DON'T NEED A MEDICAL
The FAA has issued an amendment to its 2009 rule on Part 61 flight training to make several corrections and clarifications. To conduct flight tests for the sport-pilot certificate, examiners aren't required to have a medical certificate as long as they have a U.S. driver's license, the FAA now says. EAA welcomed the change. "While this correction is important to all sport pilot examiners, it was critical to the few examiners conducting practical examinations in weight-shift control, powered parachutes, and gyroplanes," said David Oord, EAA government and advocacy specialist. The change doesn't apply to sport-pilot flight tests in gliders or balloons. The FAA's amendment also clarified two other points. More...

SEBRING SPRUCED UP FOR EXPO
Those flying into the 2012 Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida in January are in for a smooth surprise. Runway 18-36 is being rebuilt and will be a lot easier on the equipment and personnel. "The existing pavement section has exceeded its design life and is severely cracking," said Sebring spokeswoman Erin Ries. The airport is closed from 2300Z to 1200Z daily for the work until Jan. 17, just before Expo opens on Jan. 19. If you're planning to fly to Sebring in the meantime, don't forget to check the NOTAMs. The just-in-time work for the show is just the first phase. More...

VOYAGER CELEBRATES 25 YEARS, PIPISTREL PILOT LOOKS AHEAD
Burt Rutan's Voyager flew around the world unrefueled and touched down at Edwards Air Force Base at 8:06 a.m. on December 23, 1986, 25 years ago, and in a few days, a project from Pipistrel aims to achieve new world-rounding goal. Rutan's aircraft was piloted by his brother Dick and pilot Jeanna Yeager and made its 24,986-mile trip in just over nine days. It averaged 116 miles per hour while burning through nearly 7,000 pounds of fuel. The achievement earned the team multiple accolades, and was recognized with a Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association, for the greatest flying achievement in the United States, that year. One pilot will set off early in 2012 in a Pipistrel aircraft with the intent to round the world in a fixed wing aircraft, burning the least amount of fuel per distance flown. He will not be taking the shortest route possible. More...

AMELIA EARHART FLIES A CIRRUS
Denver traffic reporter Amelia Rose Earhart is distantly related to the famous aviator, and says her parents gave her that name to inspire her -- and it worked. Earhart already has earned her private pilot certificate, and this week she's flying from Oakland, Calif., to Miami in a Cirrus SR-22 to re-trace one of her namesake's famous flights (and blogging about it, here). She's working on her instrument rating, and hopes to eventually follow Earhart's route around the world -- skipping the part about going missing over the ocean, of course.

Related Content:

• PODCAST: Talking with Amelia Rose Earhart

More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: CAN GLAMORIZING A CRIMINAL HELP AVIATION?
Colton Harris-Moore is an airplane thief and con artist. Is he the inspiration for a new generation of pilots? In his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog, Russ Niles explains how a big-budget Hollywood treatment of Harris-Moore's story could (sadly) overshadow AOPA's initiatives, the EAA's Eagles programs, the Sport Pilot Rule, and third-class medical reform when it comes to boosting pilot outreach. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: ST. JOHNS INDUSTRIAL AIR PARK (KSJN, ST. JOHNS, ARIZONA)

AVweb's latest "FBO of the Week" can be found at St. Johns Industrial Air Park at KSJN in St. Johns, Arizona.

"At an altitude of nearly 6,000, feet the service of this county-run facility is always friendly and very price-competitive," writes AVweb reader Andrew Heller.

Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.

AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!

VIDEO: GOT AN OILY HANGAR FLOOR? THIS STUFF CAN SPRUCE IT UP
Many of us dream of a gleaming gray expoxy-coated hangar floor illuminated by the glare of bright lights. But most of us actually have oil-stained concrete, dingy from years of abuse. If your floor is stained badly, a product called ReKrete can help improve it. Aviation Consumer's Paul Bertorelli demonstrates the product in this brief video. More...

VIDEO: F-106 CORN FIELD BOMBER, CONVAIR DELTA DART
This is an unusual story. The jet you're looking at is an F-106 Delta Dart. A storied interceptor in its day, it was built to exceed an Air Force requirement for 1.9 mach and continuous flight at 57,000 feet. It did both. And in December 1959, it set a speed record, of 1,525 mph, or about 2.3 mach, while flying at 40,000 feet. Its pilot at the time, Major Joseph Rogers, claimed the record might not be accurate. He was still accelerating, he said, at the time. But this particular jet is famous for a different reason. More...

SHORT FINAL

One day, while flying over the Rockies with a strong jet stream and many turbulence reports in the Denver airspace, I heard Denver Center ask for ride reports.

United 123:
"Good day, Denver. United 123 with you at FL 350."

Denver Center:
"Roger, United 123. How's your ride?"

United 123:
"Well, the captain is having his lunch, and he just jabbed himself with his fork; so we could call it as moderate turbulence."

Denver Center:
"Thanks, United 123. Break, break. Air Canada 456, how's your ride at FL350?"

Air Canada 456:
"Sorry, Denver, we can't tell. We haven't eaten yet."

John Duckmanton
via e-mail

HEARD ANYTHING FUNNY ON THE RADIO?
Heard anything funny, unusual, or downright shocking on the radio lately? If you've been flying any length of time, you're sure to have eavesdropped on a few memorable exchanges. The ones that gave you a chuckle may do the same for your fellow AVweb readers. Share your radio funny with us, and, if we use it in a future "Short Final," we'll send you a sharp-looking AVweb hat to sport around your local airport. No joke. Click here to submit your original, true, and previously unpublished story. More...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

The AVwebFlash team is:

Publisher
Timothy Cole

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Jeff Van West

Advertising Director, Associate Publisher
Tom Bliss

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