Using GPS as a PAX

[your_dreamguy]

Hello,

I have been Jumpseating a lot. Almost all of my jumpseating has been in the back as a normal pax, thanks to 9/11. Anyway, I always want to keep up with my current location, speed, etc. I was thinking about purchasing a hand held GPS and taking it with me when I travel as a pax. I was thinking about purchasing a the Magellan eTrex Legend. My budget is about $300. Do any of you have some good ideas or suggestions? I'm really looking for one that has a database of the US, canada, mexico, carribean and Europe already built in it (so, I wouldn't need to download anything). I think the eTrex just has the United States and you need to pay an additional $100 per year to download a database from Magellan's website if want Canada and Europe. I was hoping someone really experienced with hand held GPS' could PM me or reply to this post. I've already tried looking at some on eBay.

Look forward to your responses!

 

[TonyC]

FAR 121.306 comes to mind.





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[Singlecoil]

GPS's are prohibited on Alaska Airlines, maybe some others.

 

[integrale]

I can't imagine getting any signal reception for that matter.

 

[MD11Drvr]

As far as I am aware anything that sends or recieves a signal is prohibited. I am pretty sure I have heard the announcement made by the FA'S on every carrier I've ridden......

 

[Yank McCobb]

Legal issues aside, the Geekdom and Dorkdom factor here is at an all-time high.

"Lemme pull out my GPS. I always want to keep up with my current location, speed, etc. "

Okie, dokie, Cap'n. How's our groundspeed lookin' today? Got a Lat/Long for me?

 

[O-Line]

Anyway, I always want to keep up with my current location, speed, etc. I was thinking about purchasing a hand held GPS and taking it with me when I travel as a pax.

You go shopping in full uniform on your day off don't you?

 

[TrafficInSight]

I tried mine out when I got it. It's nearly impossible to get a signal so there's really no point. You're just going to have to trust that the flight crew knows what they're doing

 

[labbats]

On transatlantic flights you'll often find a screen with your location in relation to the world.

Also, a GPS is one of the strictly forbidden in flight items.

 

[Icelandair]

I've used my etrex Vista C on almost every commercial flight i've been on. Nobody has complained about it yet, and it works ok. Sometimes it has trouble finding a satellite, but most of the time i can get my position. The stewardesses have never complained about me using it either. Why would a gps mess up anything it doesn't transmit its just a passive receiver?

 

[DaveJ]

Any electronic unit with a computer emits some RF

Well, even receivers emit radio frequency (RF). Receivers have intermediate frequency (IF) sections that might match the IF of some of the on-board nav equipment that could potentially be an issue. The GPS unit also has a computer chip in it to process the keyboard and update the graphics. It's probably clocked in the 100s of MegaHertz and could cause interference. That being said, however, in general, a GPS should not be any worse than a laptop computer.

 

[DenverDude2002]

So if a GPS receiver is "dangerous", what about using XM radio? Wasnt there a recent thread on this with pilots using XM? How could a passenger using a gps/xm cause more harm than a pilot using it where all the avionics stuff is?

 

[bluesky421]

TonyC,
Who is that in your avatar? Looks familiar just can't place him.

 

[C425Driver]

Someone sitting next to me on a flight tried to use his GPS and he couldn't get a signal. Undaunted by this, he had the cojones to wake me up to ask me to hold the GPS up to the window for a while to try to get a signal. I just said, "You woke me up for that?!" I tried to go back to sleep but he kept reaching over me to hold the d@mned thing up to the window. He never got a signal. Can you imagine how obnoctious this guy is with a cell phone?

My advice, forget about the GPS.

C425Driver

 

[comander]

I made a trip as a pax from fort lauderdale to pittsburgh, I took my scanner and had al the freq,s ready I got to hear most of the way, but when we where landing there was like 2 miles of visibility on final so I turned it off on approach, I got kind of scared of something going on with the ILS of our plane. But Ill never take that chance of getting busted again.

 

[TonyC]

TonyC,
Who is that in your avatar? Looks familiar just can't place him.

How 'bout I give ya a coupla hints...


He was indicted for fraud for using forged documents to obtain loans to start up a business in the early 70's.... this picture wasn't taken then... (he was found Not Guilty)


He was also involved in a hit-and-run accident where a 50-something-old black man was killed... I'll rephrase that to avoid any confusion - - he was driving, he hit a guy, the guy died, he left the scene of the accident... this picture wasn't taken then, either (he wasn't convicted for the hit-and-run, either)



He is the CEO of a very successful transportation company that ordered the first freighter version of the A380. It was on the auspicious occasion of "unveiling" this airplane, the "Reveal" ceremony in Toulouse, France, that this picture was taken.






Need more help?




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[Immelman]

Check the in-flight magazine of the carrier in question. That should address it. I was recently told that the United Airlines in flight magazine specifically allows GPS receivers.

BTW, I have gotten my little handheld to work in this manner but it had to be right next to the window, and you had to have good sat coverage in that direction, at the time.

...it was a good diversion for passing the time knowing where we were, etc.

 

[Huggyu2]

C'mon folks! Remember "Airport" when the Captain turns the plane around oh-so-gently? But the brainiac-kid notices the stars aren't right, and figures out that they've turned around. Now, since celestial nav is a dying art, you would need that GPS to know that your Captain is quietly turning the jet around. Plus, in the movie, the Captain (Dean Martin, right?) confidently confuses the kid so that the kid shuts up. But if you have the GPS, you'll have irrefutable evidence!!!

 

[GravityHater]

You can do it but I understand you will need the approval of the flight crew, and that in itself can be a pain. I have successfully used a Lowrance Airmap and my AnywhereMap in airliners - the antenna near the window. But guess what, you will get bored with that in a few minutes anyway - you need to zoom way out to get an idea of where you are, and there goes all your detail. Sort of like, OK I am between Chi and Salt Lk City... wait a minute I guess I knew that when I bought the ticket!
Get a portable DVD player/midget computer and watch movies.