One more thing to think about. While yes the cell phones worked on 9/11, they don't always work. You have to remember that cell phones work off of towers and those towers have a range (they are on the ground). When a flight is at cruising altitude, you won't be in range to use your cell phone anyways. They put those phones in the planes so that you can still use a phone if you have to while in flight, and they aren't telling you not to use your cell phone just to make money off you.

 

I have a family friend who is a commercial pilot. The research he quotes and is aware of backs up the report above. However, the chances of you having a cell phone 30cm or less from the last generation of avionics is almost nil.

Its simply an abundance of caution coupled with the fat margins that can be reaped by making you use airphones.

and youngMC, all the airphones are not out of continental (i just got off a 737 with them) and i doubt the airlines are taking them out as its incremental profit with minimal variable cost.

 

hmm...i flew a few months back and they had stickers on all of them saying they were discontinuing service? maybe they started making money off them or decided to keep them.

but yes I agree cell phones *probably* wont cause any problems whatsoever but I dont know what would be so important that it couldnt wait a few hours or if it was so important you couldnt waste 5 bucks.

 

"General aviation avionic equipment, representative of earlier analog and digital technologies..."

but anyways, its no big deal... I'm not going to be flying anywhere anytime soon...

 

I think you'd be surprised to see what percentage of the airliners out there are still using simple VOR/ILS technology,
especially for the approach phase of the flight. When I'm
using the single needle of a localizer to shoot an ILS in bad
weather, I'd like to think that all factors are in my favor,
and that all possible sources of interference are removed,
even if the chances are remote. Anyone downloading
email, using a modem, etc., especially during the critical
takeoff and landing phases is jeopardizing the safety of everyone else. Just turn it off during the flight. It's a regulation.
If you can't be out of touch that long, don't fly during that time period.

 

Not to mention that NO US cellphones or pagers operate at 1719 MHz where these "tests" were performed.

 

I agree that use of wireless devices are not "likely" to cause any problems, but as others have pointed out, why take the risk?

A more valid reason for not allowing cell phone use on planes, in my opinion, is that most don't want to hear the hen-pecked jerk in the seat next to us blabbing about what restaurant he wants to eat at with his wife that evening or how much he missed her on his trip. Cell phones are banned on busses in my area for that reason unless it's an emergency. That's how it should be.

 

i don't know what kind of cell phones could produce that kind of power - the average cell produces between 4 and 5 volts/meter, which corresponds to about 0.5 watts. my sprint digital lg 1010 phone, according to the fcc reports, puts out a maximum of 0.279 watts, which should be less than 2 V/m.

the base antennas put out that kind of power, but only very close to the antenna.

you can enter the fcc id of your phone (or other device) here http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/help.html and find the "SAR" report. somewhere in that report it lists the output.

furthermore, if the instruments and wiring in an airplane aren't shielded against this type of minor emf, then that seems to be foolish. so now we can have terrorists bringing down airplanes with super-powerful cell phones?

 

The real reasons are:

1. Money

2. Passenger-rage caused by 100 yahoos yelling "What??? I can't hear you" in to the cabin


The airlines have paid big money to communications carriers to be exclusive providers of communications equipment. Bring on your cell, your palm, or your blackberry and then all of a sudden telecom company doesn't have an exclusive any more. Violation of contract.

Passengers are't buying it. AT&T charges 7.60 per minute, plus tax, plus a $2.99 connect fee (for a rotten connection, I might add). Customers weren't going crazy for it. The airlines started dropping it because they were paying money for this service that no one was using. Southwest Airlines was the first to drop the service...in August, 2001...before the 9/11 fallout hit the travel industry.

Broadband is coming. Boeing and Airbus each have planes now outfitted for high-speed internet access. Verizon has signed on with United to provide the service on certain Airbus planes. Korean Air has agreed to provide Boeing's Connexion service on long-haul flights. Delta, American, and Japan Air Lines also plan to offer the service...all starting in 2005 with pricing dependent on the length of each leg of the trip. Boeing's Connexion on Korean Air is expected to be priced between $9.95 and $29.95 per leg. The bandwidth is provided by satelite and ground stations.


Of course...you know what is coming next. The airline bandwidth gets clogged because of all the kids on board trying to download from Kazaa.............. :doh: