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Read more.Changes should occur after 11-month FAA investigation concludes in July.
In other news - Airlines are starting to offer access to their 'In-the-air' 3G network, for just £30 a minute and £100 per Mb of data...
Barely anyone follow the 'rules' anyway, blackberrys are always going off on my flights to/from work.
On a related note, please don't judge, I think this is a valid point...
At the start of Geordie Shore they show the view from the plane window taking off/landing when they go to Amsterdam/etc to 'work', how are they allowed professional recording equipment to be running at the supposedly critical moments when even kindles need to be switched off? If airlines make exceptions then the rules are obviously bumf as it should be a binary rule.
Why is it so difficult for people to just turn on Airplane mode on their tablets/smartphones? That gets rid of all the wireless interference (Bluetooth, WiFi, data)... so simple.
Its the same reason people still phone and text while drivingOriginally Posted by zap117
"Turning off" is completely unenforceable anyway, what are they going to do? Search everyone and their bags, demand to inspect each device? Lets face it half the passengers just locked the screen and shoved it in their pocket/bag, many without even engaging flight mode. Many of the flight attendants don't even seem to understand there is a difference between screen-off and really OFF.
The whole using "electronic gear" during take off and landing I thought had as much to do with preparedness for evacuation (i.e. not wearing headphones)?
I always put my bits into "flight" mode for a better reason - I don't want it searching for networks where there are none (miles in the sky) or locking onto random foreign cell towers wasting battery in the process.
It really hacks me off when they make people turn off their Kindles.
They'll basically stand over you until it's on sleep mode, when of course, if it's a 3G version, that makes absolutely no difference and it'll still have its 3G turned on. On that front, it's actually far more concerning than a non-3G kindle or one with 3G disabled that's on and active. I understand the point behind the rule, but it's incredibly frustrating when it's being applied so illogically. With the expansion of 3G and WiFi and so on, none of those regulations are really relevant in the modern world.
Actually I never understood the big deal about this - a cellphone is transmitting in mW surely, and then the plane flies next to an ATC radar which must be pumping out MW surely? I realise that there's situations where radio interference has been blamed for plane crashes (e.g. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TEhjJrEL8BkC see page 24) but surely a cell phone signal is so weak?However there is an IATA study from 2011 which indicates that illicit cellphone use was the cause of a large number of potentially hazardous interference problems on planes between 2003 and 2009. Hopefully the FAA working group study will bring more clarity to exactly what rules should be enforced.
Then again, I remember reading somewhere that the US is a lot more "friendly" to the idea of using gadgets on planes than we are - even down to using cell phones in flight, which given the poor state of the US's cell phone setup surprises me.
Career status: still enjoying my new career in DevOps, but it's keeping me busy...
If going by anecdotal evidence, the only time I have been told I could not use my Game Boy was on a domestic US flight. Original Game Boy, so aeons ago. More recently I have seen (last 2-3 years) I saw a flight attendant on a Delta flight ask a passenger to *switch off* the device when the passenger just switched the screen off of whatever device it was. So, not too convinced really. That said, I've so far never had a problem with taking a couple of shots my my DSLR.
In my experience GPRS is more prone to cause interference than 3G regarding medical equipment. I've never had an issue with 3G/HSDPA. Not sure if that applies to aerospace interference.
Certainly the concept that electronic devices without transmission capability are a risk is ridiculous. This is why we have CE testing - to confirm that emissions from the device do not exceed tiny levels and are not a risk to other devices even when just a few cm away. I cannot believe aeroplane sensors are going to be impacted by these devices (realistically a minimum of 1m away).
Because theyre mentally incapable and the whole reason we have health and safety etc?Its the same reason people still phone and text while driving
Well, CE testing is there to ensure the devices dont give off EM waves outside their expected or permitted bands, as well as ensuring they dont just flood the area with noise.
The problem with aircraft is that the wires running through them act as aerials and so pick up all sorts of emissions from devices that are perfectly working, whilst the emissions shouldnt cause any problems, it is better to avoid the problem in the first place.
And given that everything electronic gives off noise, at varying frequencies and power levels, what happens if something that has been CE tested, and so should be safe or at least known, develops a fault?
I'm not an expert, but I've heard that one of the reasons they ask you to turn off mobile phones is because it drives the telephone networks nuts - hundreds of phones on board, all frantically trying to connect to new masts at 600mph every couple of seconds as old ones go out of range.
*Shrug*. Could be nonsense, but it makes sense.
I guess there is some merit to that, but I doubt it would be too big an issue for the networks. Just lots of failed handover attempts mashing their metrics!
Hardly an issue flying over the Altantic at 40,000 feet though.
Exactly.
Problems with 'seeing' too many masts and potential interference from higher output.
They could easily make it work, but it would involve costs that in reality most wouldn't want.
Sad to know we havent gone steps forward when a man takes seat in plane and watches TV in its device or surf the web freely. Long way to come....
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