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Cell phones on planes

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PhatAJ2008

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 24, 2005
Posts
218
Is it true the only reason you are not allowed to use cell phones on an airplane is to encourage the use of the one in the seat in front of you? Or does it really mess with the plane's navigational equipment? I know you can't get service while in flight, but during taxi? Jetblue evidently doesn't allow it, and an FA got very upset at a man using his phone while we waited to take off last week...
 
yes it could conceivably cause interference, and the reason for no more phones during taxi out, because its hard enough to get some of those idiots off their phones when to door closes, you'd be delaying takeoffs at high density fields when some jackass is yammerin away on his squakbox in the back
same for those damned ipods, and 'noise canceling' headsets, far as i'm concerned the headsets shouldn't be allowed at all, ever because they can cancel out commands from the flightcrew
just wanna slap some of these people in the head when they say 'but its turned off' when the fa asks them to remove them for takeoff/landing same for audio headsets, how are they supposed to know its actually turned off? like a pax isn't capable of lying about it?
who needs to listen to music that badly, all the time?
 
The last I heard is that cell phone usage has never been conclusively proven to interfere with any navigational instruments, nor has it been proven that it will not interfere. During the early periods of cell phones, use of phones in flight would result in the cell signal bouncing from cell tower to cell tower so rapidly that tracking the use was not possible and thus calls would be free. Its my understanding that this has since been fixed.
 
I don't think too many people realize that allowing cell-phones wouldn't do anyone any good anyways. I have enough trouble getting cell-phone reception on the ground, let alone at the minimum, 7 miles from the nearest station inside a metal enclosure... and thats best case scenario. Most airline flights don't spend too much time over densely populated regions or highways, so the nearest tower may be dozens or hundreds of miles away. You're also travelling at hundreds of miles per hour... theres no way a phone could "lock on" to a tower even if it could get a signal.

The only way for it to work is if cell phone "towers" were installed in airplanes. And I know that if that happens, I won't be flying on those airlines... the last thing I need is to be in a confined space for hours on end with 200 strangers yelling into their cell-phones "SORRY, ITS A LITTLE LOUD IN HERE, I'M ON AN AIRPLANE.. WHAT'D YOU SAY!?"
 
flyf15 said:
I don't think too many people realize that allowing cell-phones wouldn't do anyone any good anyways. I have enough trouble getting cell-phone reception on the ground, let alone at the minimum, 7 miles from the nearest station inside a metal enclosure... and thats best case scenario. Most airline flights don't spend too much time over densely populated regions or highways, so the nearest tower may be dozens or hundreds of miles away. You're also travelling at hundreds of miles per hour... theres no way a phone could "lock on" to a tower even if it could get a signal.

The only way for it to work is if cell phone "towers" were installed in airplanes. And I know that if that happens, I won't be flying on those airlines... the last thing I need is to be in a confined space for hours on end with 200 strangers yelling into their cell-phones "SORRY, ITS A LITTLE LOUD IN HERE, I'M ON AN AIRPLANE.. WHAT'D YOU SAY!?"

Are you sure that you know what you are talking about? Cell phones do not need to lock onto towers, its not a GPS. I know that a lot of corporate jets are having the technology put into place on their jets. Motorolla has already had it aboard all of the Falcons for some time now.

Flying F-15. I think that if you will not fly on an aircraft that allows cell phone useage you had better pick a new profession. UAL has already said that they hope to have the technology in place by next year, and you can guarntee that all of the other airlines will follow suit.
 
I've left mine on accidentally before (several times, actually) and whenever I do this, when I get below 4000 and my phone reaquires a signal, I get interference in my headset. Actually, we both do. It seems that nextel phones do this and so does Cingular (which is what I have). Never had a problem with the NAV's though.
 
Flying Illini said:
I've left mine on accidentally before (several times, actually) and whenever I do this, when I get below 4000 and my phone reaquires a signal, I get interference in my headset. Actually, we both do. It seems that nextel phones do this and so does Cingular (which is what I have). Never had a problem with the NAV's though.

That makes two of us. I will actually take it a step further. About 15 seconds after we touch down, (About the time it takes the FA to tell the passengers that it is alright to use their phone), I get interference in my headset. I can tell when someone has left theirs on or has turn it on in the back. I wish they would make the rule you can't have the things on until your at the gate.
 
777_Jackpot said:
I wish they would make the rule you can't have the things on until your at the gate.

If you're the FO, couldn't you politely ask the CA if he would reuqire that on his flights? If you're the CA...well...you're PIC. No cell phones means no cell phones.

I know what you mean about that interference. My computer gets it, our TVs do, and I can tell when I forgot to turn it off in my lovely 172 because my headset gets it. I can only imagine touching down at LGA or ORD and missing a call from ground because you couldn't understand through someone's cell phone gettin' a signal. Ouch...

If you have to talk THAT badly....take greyhound.

-mini
 
Actually I think part of the problem is you can hose up the cell phone network by broadcasting over a much larger area than a cell phone normally would.
 
Cell Phones

Mates,

My experience is that if the cell phone is within about 6 feet of the VHF COMM receiver/transmitter box then you will get continual interference through your headset or cockpit speaker when ever the cell phone is attempting to interrogate the network. It will interrogate the network and attempt to sign on anytime it detects a useable signal and that is probably anytime it's within about 5,000 feet of and network grid. In King Airs and Lears where the COMM R/Ts are in the nose, the flight crew's cell phones will cause this interference. In the GIV/GV (forward galley) the F/A's cell phone will do it. It is real annoying and could cause a safety issue. I've seen no interference on the NAVs and, yes, my Verizon phone does it as well as the other vendors.

Another problem with these things are the new, selectable, and really bizare ring tones. One day, when I was relatively new in the airplane type, we were comming up on the middle marker and in the clouds when the other pilot's cell phone acquired the network and gave him a ring indicating he had mail waiting. Well, the first thought that went through my mind was "What the heck is that?" (language improved for the message board)

I'm quite happy my company has a policy that we all turn them off at engine start as soon as we've called home to say we're taxiing out with X pax onboard.

TransMach
 

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