using cell phones on planes?

Question

were going to disney and im not looking to make a call on the plane but more or less to possibly watch tv on my phone and to play multiplayer game. but mostly i want to turn my GPS on my phone on and look to see where we are over and how fast we are going. is it still illegal and could it interfere with the plane?

Answer 1

There is a chance, but its very small, its more likely to interfere with smaller planes if you were on one.

Answer 2

A) Mythbusters are about making money, not about science. I've had wierd **** happen with instruments that went away after an announcement to to turn off cell phones. There are documented cases; the first one was at least 10 years ago, on a Lear 3 with a motorola cell phone.

B) The real problem, as far as everyone else is concerned, is that it causes problems with lots of cell phone towers; your phone talks to the towers it can see, and it can see a lot more from the sky then from the ground.

C) The cell phone ban was in place before terrorism was a concern. Ignore those conspiracy theorists.

Basically, B is the statutory reason. A shouldn't kill you, but it might give you and extra 20 minutes in the air if an anomoly causes a go-around (the pilot won't crash the airplane; he'll add throttle and get away from the ground). C is a conspiracy theory that's so stupid that it's not worth repeating.

Answer 3

Many phones can be booted into "Airplane Mode" these days. The Motorola v3i Razer is one that I know of for sure. The phone is inactive, as is the GPS. You can play games or use other functions -- MP3 players, etc.

It's still prohibited to use active cell phones and GPS receiving equipment on most commercial airliners. The in-flight magazines on American Airlines specifically mentions GPS equipment in the list of prohibited equipment.

The actual risk to aviation today is virtually zero. Modern avionics are not susceptible to interference in the way that comm/nav gear of 50 years ago was however the ban has remained in effect.

I fly on my company's corporate jets several times a year and they (the pilots) don't care if we use cell phones or GPS on board, or anything else for that matter. As a practical matter, cell phones are pretty much useless much above 5,000' AGL due to the way that cell towers propogate the signals. It is fun to fire up a GPS receiver with the antenna in the window (it won't work anywhere else) and record a max speed of 500 - 600 MPH or more and track the progress of the flight. Just don't get caught doing it on an airliner, though.

Answer 4

Some electronic devices CAN interfere with the navigation signals being received by commercial aircraft. This is not some money-making scheme for the airlines. A retired airline pilot friend of mine told me a Nintendo Gameboy had caused interference with a landing approach. As many of you know, Gameboys do not even have transmit/receive functions.
Specifically with cell phones, they can cause interference because once powered on, they search out the nearest cell towers. On the surface, they have a range of about 8 miles. Since cell signals (radio waves) travel in all directions, being close to 7 miles in the air (appox. 36,000 feet) would cover lots of towers on the ground and would therefore be "connected" to thousands of cell towers potentially causing interference with the navigation equipment. Since TV and GPS are new to cell phones I do not know if they themselves would interfere, but simply having the phone on would.

Answer 5

this could interfere with the navigation equipments, but just ask. The thing is that GPS's might not have any frequencys delivered out, but if you use the internet on the phone, you might cause the nav. to get messed up. Just ask the captain if you could enter or just look on the TV screens, if they have any. I used those to suit my interests. Have fun in disney!!!

Answer 6

The cellular transmissinos do not affect the aircraft function. HOWEVER, it is still a violation of FAA regulations and therefore, in direct conflict with the flight officer/attendant instructions. this is federal violation. You may try, if not caught ok, if caught can lose the device, or be warned to put up. If a sceond check shows you wtill using-----good luck.

Answer 7

This myth is busted! Seriously! Mythbusters tested this myth and found that that cell phones do not interfere with the radio signals or electronics in the plane.

Now as for it to be illegal to use your phone on a plane? I've never heard that. They are being more cautious though about what items you can bring aboard. (hidden weapons can be in anything!)

Answer 8

hi John,

There is no signal on a plane at the altitutde you will be flying at. Therefore, nothing will work on the cell phone, including your GPS, with the exception of your camera of MP3 player.

Answer 9

Hi: Although the risk is practically nil, the FAA still chooses to ban their use on airlines. This means you can't even power them up. I realize a lot of people forget to turn them off inside their onboard luggage - I have even forgotten myself on occasion. However, if a flight attendant spots you using it for any purpose, s/he is required by the FAA to have you turn it off. You can take hand-held battery games, and DVD players for enjoyment on your trip to Orlando.

Answer 10

It doesn't interfere with the plane. Airlines don't want people using cell phones in flight the same way theaters don't want people talking during a movie.

You can probably get away with it as long as you hide it from the stewardess when she comes down the isle. Try to sit next to the window.