Podcast: Red Tails on the Big Screen

When Red Tails, the new George Lucas film about the Tuskegee Airmen, opens on January 20, it will bring a classic aviation story to a new audience. Actor Marcus Paulk, who plays one of the airmen, spoke with AVweb's Mary Grady about how the experience of working on the film affected him and how he hopes it will affect those who watch.This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation.

Podcast: Red Tails on the Big Screen

When Red Tails, the new George Lucas film about the Tuskegee Airmen, opens on January 20, it will bring a classic aviation story to a new audience. Actor Marcus Paulk, who plays one of the airmen, spoke with AVweb's Mary Grady about how the experience of working on the film affected him and how he hopes it will affect those who watch.This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation.

Question of the Week: The Next FAA Administrator

Politico has named its top five potential successors to former FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. Who do you like?Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers what they thought of the FAA's plan to charge for access to AeroNav's electronic charts; click through to see the breakdown of answers.

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.

Picture of the Week: AVweb’s Flying Photography Showcase

This week's winning photo comes from James Lichty of Brampton, ON (Canada). Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.

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.

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 Dec. 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.

Podcast: Amelia Earhart Flies Again

Amelia Rose Earhart, who works as a reporter at a Denver TV station, has been inspired by her famous ancestor to learn to fly. She's now re-tracing Earhart's 1937 flight from Oakland to Miami. She talked with AVweb's Mary Grady about the flight, what she hopes to achieve, and her big plans for what's next.This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation.

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 Jan. 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.

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 either 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.