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Thread: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

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    Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    another aircraft thread...

    Do mobile phones interfer with modern aircraft systems - no

    Did they used to - yes, when they used the old system of navigation.

    With GPS, which all the modern ones now use, mobile phones do not interfere.

    In fact a few pilots I know send text messages and make calls while flying.

    Text is best, as when flying you go in and out of "service areas". So you might get 10 mins on a call then drop out - but with text, it keeps trying and sends when a signal is there.

    There is only one down side... sometimes there is a bit of "background static" in the headphones (for the pilot) when mobiles are being used.

    So the pilots I know, who fly the smaller aircraft, often say to thier passengers "use your mobiles - but if I am hitting a difficult area, I will let you know and ask you to turn off your phones". This is coz they do not want any background static and want to fully concerntrate.

    On a long flight it sort of makes you think... oh well, I will send the odd text, just to keep me amused...

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Well - I've occassionally kept my mobile phone on during the flight - and I did it once to check if I could get a signal - but I couldn't - at all. Even on landing it would take a couple of minutes before picking up a signal in a foreign country.

    I wasn't sure why I could never get a signal because the stories from the 911 plane was that some people were using their phones - maybe in the USA the signals are stronger?

    Anyway, I have thought that it could be handy to have your phone on so that if it is about to crash you could send a final few texts to your loved ones (or make any final 'deletions').

    I have tried a few time to use those 'official' in flight phones (on the reverse side of the media controllers) for texting but it's so darn fiddly with swiping your credit card it never seems to work. I think that providing some kind of easy texting facility (send and receive) in flight would add some fun to long flights (and in some cases help with logistics/arrangements).

    Of course what I dont want, is to hear everyone's mobile beep beeping, then vibrating like a frog on heat as they get an incoming message.

    So it needs to be done in a subtle way................

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    At the moment Using mobile phone in UK airspace is illegal (even if you do it discreetly)
    Its even illegal in a hot air balloon, which normally does not have any avionics, for it to interfere with

    http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?ca...90&pageid=1347

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by JiveLad View Post
    Well - I've occassionally kept my mobile phone on during the flight - and I did it once to check if I could get a signal - but I couldn't - at all. Even on landing it would take a couple of minutes before picking up a signal in a foreign country.

    I wasn't sure why I could never get a signal because the stories from the 911 plane was that some people were using their phones - maybe in the USA the signals are stronger?

    Anyway, I have thought that it could be handy to have your phone on so that if it is about to crash you could send a final few texts to your loved ones (or make any final 'deletions').

    I have tried a few time to use those 'official' in flight phones (on the reverse side of the media controllers) for texting but it's so darn fiddly with swiping your credit card it never seems to work. I think that providing some kind of easy texting facility (send and receive) in flight would add some fun to long flights (and in some cases help with logistics/arrangements).

    Of course what I dont want, is to hear everyone's mobile beep beeping, then vibrating like a frog on heat as they get an incoming message.

    So it needs to be done in a subtle way................
    That is all very well but if I was sat next to you on a flight and the passengers had been told to switch their phones off I would be paranoid.
    I am a dreadful passenger and I would literally be scared s###less.
    The last flight I was on,a lad next to me had his phone on until the very last minute.Thoughless little tyke.

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by philsmove View Post
    At the moment Using mobile phone in UK airspace is illegal (even if you do it discreetly)
    I hope it stays that way too. Being squashed in with a few hundred other people is bad enough; having them jabbering to their friends while I'm trying to read or watch the film, or being woken up by a ringing phone a few rows back would make it even more unpleasant.

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin View Post
    another aircraft thread...

    Do mobile phones interfer with modern aircraft systems - no

    Did they used to - yes, when they used the old system of navigation.

    With GPS, which all the modern ones now use, mobile phones do not interfere.

    In fact a few pilots I know send text messages and make calls while flying.

    Text is best, as when flying you go in and out of "service areas". So you might get 10 mins on a call then drop out - but with text, it keeps trying and sends when a signal is there.

    There is only one down side... sometimes there is a bit of "background static" in the headphones (for the pilot) when mobiles are being used.

    So the pilots I know, who fly the smaller aircraft, often say to thier passengers "use your mobiles - but if I am hitting a difficult area, I will let you know and ask you to turn off your phones". This is coz they do not want any background static and want to fully concerntrate.

    On a long flight it sort of makes you think... oh well, I will send the odd text, just to keep me amused...
    A good thread for CheesyRobMan to join since he's a commercial pilot and can give us the scoop.

    As far as I'm aware the legislation prohibiting mobile phone use is a telecomms one and not a flight safety one, hinting to me that paranoia about crashing the plane due to interference with the navaids is not the issue.

    As to whether they'll work in flight that is down to simple physics and the fact that the further you are away from the cell-phone antenna the less likely you are to get a connection.
    • As we all know we can get a signal inside the cabin of aircraft when they're on the ground and (relatively) static. Someone had said that because the aircraft was a big metal cylinder this would screen the signal, and although it probably reduces it clearly the construction of the aircraft doesn't prevent the call.
    • At 30,000ft and 500 knots in a passenger jet not only would any cellular signal be almost non-existent but you'd be moving so fast across the geographic cells that the system would not be able to set up the 2-way radio link to your phone that the call demands.
    • At lower altitudes and speeds the phone system should be able to make the radio connection, so they would likely work. I don't know what altitude would see the signal drop out but I reckon it would be fairly low (<10,000ft - CheesyRobMan expert advice sought)
    • On 9/11 - I think it was Flight 77, there is some doubt about whether people did use cell phones, but assuming they did this was probably because the hijackers flew close to the ground and not at 30,000ft
    Quote Originally Posted by JiveLad View Post
    Well - I've occassionally kept my mobile phone on during the flight - and I did it once to check if I could get a signal - but I couldn't - at all. Even on landing it would take a couple of minutes before picking up a signal in a foreign country.
    A bit cavalier JiveLad, what if there was a good flight safety reason for the ban? Do you normally just ignore the instructions given to you by the flight crew

    Quote Originally Posted by JiveLad View Post
    I think that providing some kind of easy texting facility (send and receive) in flight would add some fun to long flights (and in some cases help with logistics/arrangements).
    Of course you could always simply watch a movie.

    Quote Originally Posted by JiveLad View Post
    .............it needs to be done in a subtle way................
    or not at all please

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    and how does one close the aircraft door on a hot air balloon?

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by dep View Post
    and how does one close the aircraft door on a hot air balloon?

    The same way as you open it

    With difficulty

    Non the less I am required to point out the emergency exits before taking off

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by Agente Secreto View Post
    A bit cavalier JiveLad, what if there was a good flight safety reason for the ban?
    Yes - I can be a bit of a swashbuckler at times - living on the edge etc. One time when I accidentally did leave my mobile phone on, we landed in Santiago instead San Francisco. I had to apologise to the crew and passengers about that one - as I did get an incoming SMS. The pilot said it can affect the navigation to the destination if there is an incoming text message with certain words and 'smileys' included.

    Quote Originally Posted by Agente Secreto View Post
    Do you normally just ignore the instructions given to you by the flight crew
    Yes - except when Louise from Cathay Pacific asks me to join her in the rest room for a 1:1 review of her safety demo.

    Quote Originally Posted by Agente Secreto View Post
    Of course you could always simply watch a movie.
    Not possible. In flight movies have the potential to damage my limbic system and cause me to become disoriented. It first happened when I was watching 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' en route to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. I found myself sort of 'flying' through the cabin at great speed. Fortunately, Louise was there to calm me down.

    Quote Originally Posted by Agente Secreto View Post
    or not at all please
    Ok - I'll see what I can do.

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by JiveLad View Post
    Yes - I can be a bit of a swashbuckler at times -and so on.....................
    - rep on way

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    I did once get asked to turn my mobile phone off while in flight. The thing is.. my phone WAS on.. but it was in FLIGHT mode.. all radio / transmitter / receiver stuff was turned off. I was using it to play a game of golf (or was it tennis? no it was golf!) to pass the tedium of the flight.

    I attempted to tell the stewardess that the phone was in fact "off" and for all intents and purposes this was in fact nothing more than a mobile phone shaped games console with a very small screen and a crappy selection of games.. I even demonstrated to her the little option to turn Flight mode on and off (without actually turning it on and off you understand)

    Still got asked to turn it off.. ok thinks I not a problem I'll do as they ask. Put my MP3 player on. a few minutes later as we were about to touch down the person one row forward and across the isle.. his phone started to ring.. and he TOOK THE CALL and the *$%@!%! self same stewardess didn't bat one of her glued on carefully applied artificial eyelashes !

    Grr...

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    As I understand it, the telecom providers don't like you to use your phone in a plane, as if you're in range of a transmitter, you're likely to be in range of *lots* of them, but the ones you can "see" change fairly quickly as you fly over them.

    I guess this make deciding how to route calls, etc. Tracking one of two phones through the air will stress their network. Tracking whole plane-loads of them would cause a melt-down.

    Better explanation here...

    Mobile phones on aircraft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi View Post
    As I understand it, the telecom providers don't like you to use your phone in a plane, as if you're in range of a transmitter, you're likely to be in range of *lots* of them, but the ones you can "see" change fairly quickly as you fly over them.

    I guess this make deciding how to route calls, etc. Tracking one of two phones through the air will stress their network. Tracking whole plane-loads of them would cause a melt-down.

    Better explanation here...

    Mobile phones on aircraft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    an interesting bit from this article being...

    "Despite the FCC ban on the use of mobile telephones on aircraft, virtually every pilot headset sold on the market today comes with a cell phone adapter so that the pilot can use his cell phone through the headset. The manufacturers avoid legal responsibility by claiming the adapters are for use on the ground, but many general aviation pilots have used their cell phones in flight at one point or another."

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin View Post
    an interesting bit from this article being...

    "Despite the FCC ban on the use of mobile telephones on aircraft, virtually every pilot headset sold on the market today comes with a cell phone adapter so that the pilot can use his cell phone through the headset. The manufacturers avoid legal responsibility by claiming the adapters are for use on the ground, but many general aviation pilots have used their cell phones in flight at one point or another."
    "Hello darling"
    "Hello my sweetheart"
    "Where are you now?"
    "I'm on the plane. Just in a holding pattern over Heathrow - if you stand outside I'll see if I can bank right and give you a wave"
    "Ok darling - and can you bring back something to eat?"
    "Of course - I'll ask Louise if there are any leftovers - I think it was chicken salad with a bread roll today"
    "Ok - sounds delicious! Look forward to it"
    "Ok sweetie pie. Over and out"
    "Oh darling I love it when you talk like that......"
    "Ok - and I'll be back soon. And my landing gear will be ready for touchdown"
    "Oh Brian, you are such a tease"
    "Love you"
    "Love you too"

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    Quote Originally Posted by JiveLad View Post
    "Hello darling"
    "Hello my sweetheart"
    "Where are you now?"
    "I'm on the plane. Just in a holding pattern over Heathrow - if you stand outside I'll see if I can bank right and give you a wave"
    "Ok darling - and can you bring back something to eat?"
    "Of course - I'll ask Louise if there are any leftovers - I think it was chicken salad with a bread roll today"
    "Ok - sounds delicious! Look forward to it"
    "Ok sweetie pie. Over and out"
    "Oh darling I love it when you talk like that......"
    "Ok - and I'll be back soon. And my landing gear will be ready for touchdown"
    "Oh Brian, you are such a tease"
    "Love you"
    "Love you too"


    And it ain't far from the truth either - admitedly most of the pilots I know fly at a lower levels, and are not "bus drivers of the sky" - more like mini- busses or sports cars. They also favour texting as you do go in and out of service areas.

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    Re: Using mobile phones in an aircraft

    I fly small, single engine planes and have to admit to having used my phone in the past whilst in a holding pattern, waiting to land. Depending on the wind at the time, I would often be left circling at about 800ft directly above my house for 5-10 minutes, which is only a couple of miles from the airport, so I would phone my daughters and they would come out into the garden to wave. It was great fun and, I'm glad to say, never caused me to crash!

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