Cell phone nonsense

[steveinindy]

Cessnadriver, Cell phones may cause some problem for the towers or for FAA, but that is not the warning given by the FAA and airlines.

Honestly, I think they use safety as an argument because it shuts most rational folks up. You tell them its to avoid problems that don't directly affect them and your typical selfish American is going to go "So?".

And I pads and Game boys etc, don't affect cell towers.

You know the "shut everything off" attitude is simply a way to prevent folks from arguing with the flight attendant whether or not it is approved, etc. Also to keep people from being distracted/obstructed (such as by a laptop) during phases of flight where a rapid evacuation might be likely.

and I'll bet $100 you can't demonstrate that.

At least not legally. Mythbusters wanted to test this in flight and the local FSDO told them that if they did it off the ground, there would be issues.

[Bob Dingley]

Right on Steve. You can be hit by lightning with no effect on the avionics and autopilot.

Bob

[weiskopf20@gmail.com]

As usual half of you are right and half are wrong. The others I don't know about. In the old days of AM/FM radios, there was a good chance that a spurious emmission "could" interfere with the ILS. Most radios of the superhetrodyne type mix combine the desired frequency with one about 10.7 MHZ away to get the desired IF frequency. The problem is/was that when this generates the desired Frequency, there are now 4 frequencies: the sum, difference and two original frequencies. In the case of sloppy design and accidental choice of frequencies, an ILS could be blocked. For those of you who are doubtful, I did the math once and came up with several combinations which were tested in the lab on military aircraft radios installed in a bench. I am in agreement wrt cell phones. Keeping mine on, even in a cub at 1000ft, just runs down the battery.

[weiskopf20@gmail.com]

deleted by poster - added to the above. The original was created on an IPAD. and posted before I was ready...

[rosiejerryrosie]

I really, really feel sorry for the folks who couldn't think far enough ahead that they were forced to make a vitally important phone call while in flight. They must have had a really rough time before cell phones were invented..... How did civilization ever survive when it was not possible to stay in constant communication with everyone you knew? Turn the darn thing off and enjoy the flight.....

[Joe LaMantia]

Jerry,

I can't speak for Steeler fans but I know that many "Cheeseheads" need to know the scores of all the Packer games in real time! This is not a SMALL issue!


Joe

[martymayes]

I really, really feel sorry for the folks who couldn't think far enough ahead that they were forced to make a vitally important phone call while in flight. They must have had a really rough time before cell phones were invented.....

Not really, back to at least the '70's, "flight phones" have been installed on aircraft, the most recent versions were the ones in the seat back.


With regard to the FAA, there's been quite a few reports generated by NASA ASRS and airline ASAP programs that suggest a host of problems with PEDs. Should they just igore it and say it's not a problem? Not sure how anything but "more study" is the most correct answer.

[Bill Greenwood]

Marty,
"Quite a few reports" and "that suggest"?

That sounds like Michele Bachman giving medical advice for teen girls.
There have also been "reports" "that suggest" bigfoot sightings and kidnapping by alien spaceships.
Where is the govt warning on those?

And do you wear some bigfoot repellant if you go out in the woods?

And while peds may have a host of problesms, interfering with airline avionics is not one of them. The govt via the FAA should not have a policy of lying to people. And it is actually illegal to lie to Congreesiona inquires, should it be not only legal , but standard policy to have a govt agency lie to us?

It degrades what little respect people have for the govt. and rightly so.

[kscessnadriver]

I'd be wililig to bet you have never seen ANY interferance with airplane avionics like an ILS from a cell phone in the cockpit, and I'll bet $100 you can't demonstrate that.

I hear the effects of GSM cell phones all the time in the aircraft I fly. All it takes is interference while tower is trying to communicate something with you and you miss it. Some of us here fly for a living and aren't the type who just go fly on the weekend for fun. We spend tons of time in the air to hear/see interference.

[rwanttaja]

Marty,
"Quite a few reports" and "that suggest"?

If you read the ASRS reports, they're usually of the form, "XXX interference was noted. FA went into the cabin and found passenger using a YYY. The YYY was shut down, and the interference stopped."

Not scientific, but you don't want to be running a science experiment with 300 passengers. And as long as these kinds of report persist, the FAA will resist risking passenger safety.

I think we can all agree that a brand-new Ipad, smart phone, Gameboy, etc. right out of the box probably doesn't cause interference. But what about that Gameboy after the kid has dropped it in the toilet a few times? What about a smart phone where the owner read about increasing the range by soldering a piece of foil to the circuit board? What about the Ipad with a stack-up of aftermarket gadgets attached?

If an accident DOES happen, if people ARE hurt, will the families of the deceased sue the kid with the Gameboy, or the guy with the sloppy soldering iron? Nope. They'll sue the airline that allowed these people to use the devices in flight. From the airlines' point of view, there's no advantage to lifting the ban, and plenty of downside.

Ron Wanttaja