Good news for air passengers from the Times of London today!

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#902344 25-Sep-2013 11:33

The interference you hear is more related to bad speaker performance than the mobile itself. Planes are a bit better than a pair of crappy speakers ;)

timmmay

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#902345 25-Sep-2013 11:35

Geektastic:
timmmay: I've been asked to turn noise cancelling headphones off. Kindles have WiFi receivers, which are turned off when the screen is off.

Kindles also have 'Airplane Mode' (sic) which ought to enable you to read the whole time I would say.

I leave it in airplane mode all the time, to save battery.

jonherries

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#902378 25-Sep-2013 12:31

The concerns raised by the FCC in the past seem overblown to me. Much like the concerns raised by people who worry that Wifi will cause cancer.

I thought there were already regulations about how much radiation these devices emit (for human safety), and I wonder what the decay curve looks like on that, and what the likely distance is before the signal is lost to noise? Surely that could be modelled?

Jon

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#902391 25-Sep-2013 12:42

BigMal: One of the most important things to ensure safety in commercial flight is clear communication between the pilots, ground control, and other pilots.

15 minutes with your device off won't kill you but a miscommunication might.

First world problems.

Meanwhile the ground crew are talking to each other via their walkie talkies.

Regards,

Old3eyes

timmmay

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#902403 25-Sep-2013 12:46

old3eyes: Meanwhile the ground crew are talking to each other via their walkie talkies.

Outside the plane. I suspect the power of a transmission falls off at the square of the distance, so probably irrelevant.

jonherries

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#902405 25-Sep-2013 12:50

timmmay:
old3eyes: Meanwhile the ground crew are talking to each other via their walkie talkies.

Outside the plane. I suspect the power of a transmission falls off at the square of the distance, so probably irrelevant.

I kinda assumed the same, hence my question about why this can't be modelled?

Jon

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
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#902447 25-Sep-2013 13:53

timmmay:
old3eyes: Meanwhile the ground crew are talking to each other via their walkie talkies.

Outside the plane. I suspect the power of a transmission falls off at the square of the distance, so probably irrelevant.

Hmmm. Yes and now. There's another "reason" they point out. Most times you land in a NZ airport they say you can turn your phones when they leave the runway after landing. But if they open the rear door they ask people to turn these off as a "fire hazard" while walking around the plane on the tarmac. Funny because sometimes you see the fuel truck drivers talking on their mobile while the pumps are connected to the plane.

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wasabi2k

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#902494 25-Sep-2013 15:09

The logic in me makes this out to be a farce: There are tons of devices on planes now, not all of them get turned off, no plane has exploded on the runway because of someone's kindle having wifi on.

The trusting person in me thinks there are a LOT of people who know a LOT more about the specifics of:

1. Aircraft Systems Design and Shielding
2. Radio Performance and effects of Interference
3. Potential conflicts between the two
4. Airplane procedure and risk management

Then again I am more than happy to turn my stuff off for 10-15 minutes or more during take-off and landing - I see the benefits of people being more likely to listen (actively or passively) to the safety briefing.

Maybe I am getting older - but if get upset your device has to be off for 15 minutes you may need to assess your priorities.

PaulBrislen

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#902533 25-Sep-2013 16:31

Friends of mine who are pilots (one who flies for AirNZ) regularly TXT and talk while flying.

I just want to read my Kindle while we're taking off and landing.

Arguments about "suck it up" miss the point - there is no evidence any of these devices interfere in any way with radar, flight controls, comms or anything else on board the plane. The US authorities don't even allow testing to take place in the US, hence the hold up in working out a solution.

Noise cancelling headphones are explicitly allowed under AirNZ's flight policy although I have had to argue the case with one or two flight attendants.

As for paying attention in an emergency, I hereby promise to put my Kindle down should the oxygen mask fall in front of my face or the wing falls off.

Are we all OK with that?

CYaBro

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#902551 25-Sep-2013 16:46

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Geektastic

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#902563 25-Sep-2013 17:00

old3eyes:
BigMal: One of the most important things to ensure safety in commercial flight is clear communication between the pilots, ground control, and other pilots.

15 minutes with your device off won't kill you but a miscommunication might.

First world problems.

Meanwhile the ground crew are talking to each other via their walkie talkies.

And Air NZ allow you to use mobiles long before you get to the air bridge. AND they have at least one plane you can use wifi on.

old3eyes

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#902687 25-Sep-2013 19:55

timmmay:
old3eyes: Meanwhile the ground crew are talking to each other via their walkie talkies.

Outside the plane. I suspect the power of a transmission falls off at the square of the distance, so probably irrelevant.

Yes but have you noticed that when you have to access a plane via the back door they always ask you to turn off a cell fones but when you enter via the front door they don't?? Well not on Air NZ..

Regards,

Old3eyes

freitasm

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#902694 25-Sep-2013 20:13

old3eyes:
timmmay:
old3eyes: Meanwhile the ground crew are talking to each other via their walkie talkies.

Outside the plane. I suspect the power of a transmission falls off at the square of the distance, so probably irrelevant.

Yes but have you noticed that when you have to access a plane via the back door they always ask you to turn off a cell fones but when you enter via the front door they don't?? Well not on Air NZ..

Read my reply above.

blakamin

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#902699 25-Sep-2013 20:25

I get a laugh out of passengers needing things to be turned off during takeoff and landing.
Where do you take off and land? An airport.
How many thousands of people are in/near the airport transmitting and receiving phone calls to the same cell site the passengers on the plane could be?
Does the plane magically move around radio waves?
Do the radio waves magically move around the plane so as not to interfere?
Does the RF shielding on planes only work with devices inside the plane?
Not to mention other RF devices.
LMFAO.

timmmay

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#902715 25-Sep-2013 21:08

Isn't there the issue of books and laptops becoming projectiles? Takeoff and landing are the most dangerous times of the flight, so it seems reasonable enough, though e-books are often lighter than the real books people are allowed to read.

Flying Wellington to Auckland you're only allowed to read your e-book for about half the flight. That's a bit more than necessary I'd have thought.

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