What is Digg?646 Comments
- Snoods, on 11/03/2007, -34/+723The cell phone signals don't even interfere with the plane. They just made that rule so people don't have to sit next to ***** talking on the phone the entire flight.
- inactive, on 11/03/2007, -11/+534"I have had it with these ***** iPhones on this ***** plane!"
- fanboydcs, on 10/30/2007, -8/+525I flew with mine, and had no issues. Just tell the crew that its an iPod Touch... they will have no idea...
- subhuman, on 11/13/2007, -9/+377As a pilot I think i am in a better situation to answer this.
Cellphone antennas only have a max range of around 2-3 miles.(12k-18k ft) so theoretically you can pick up signal on some short haul flights, you can always get signal at like 4000ft.
However, you cannot rule out interference. Things like swinging the compass and quadrantal error correction all assume that no other radio devices will be onboard. Allowing mobiles is another unknown to add into the works.
And yes - 100 people all on their phone would prob piss alot of people off :D - wisedude, on 10/27/2007, -7/+371this isn't uncommon.. All the time I'm told to put away my phone even when I try to explain it's in "airplane mode"
- Jumboto, on 10/27/2007, -3/+280When I was a kid the flight attendant told me to turn off my Gameboy.
Where was digg back then?? - Misinformant, on 10/20/2007, -43/+277Harsh to call them clueless. You expect them to know the features of every phone on the market?
- inactive, on 10/30/2007, -8/+241Tell them it's an Xbox, just for effect.
- DAC1138, on 10/29/2007, -30/+257Not everyone is a tech guru. So is this person really clueless, or are the tech/blog writers just being pompous zealous jackasses?
- Ireland, on 10/27/2007, -9/+146I told them mine was a Zune but they laughed at me.
- inactive, on 10/27/2007, -44/+150What a ***** jealous little bitch.
- wstrucke, on 10/17/2007, -9/+113the author of the article points out that apple tells you it's okay to use airplane mode *if the airline allows it*. if the flight attendant tells you to turn off something harmless you should probably argue a little bit and then comply. complain later to the airline, the press, etc. it's just idiotic to be stubborn enough to be detained, unless you have time to kill i guess... and you REALLY want to make a point...
- Micktion, on 10/20/2007, -4/+84Same here, I told the flight attendent it was in flight mode, he asked me to turn it off anyway. Strange... 2 seats away someone happily kept on typing on their laptop, probably with their WIFI ON, madly roaming and searching for a network to connect to, bombarding the planes avionics and radio systems.
Trying to have technical conversations with a flight attendant, is a bit like talking politics with your dog. - sagosen, on 10/27/2007, -12/+92That's horribly unfunny, man..
- gothicx00, on 10/18/2007, -7/+86Snood, you apparently don't watch Mythbusters. The FAA (who could honestly give a flying ***** if sitting next to somebody talking on their phone annoys you) has those rules in place for a reason. Although the range of frequencies between cellphones doesn't necessarily differ too much, the transceivers power and general behavior can differ from model to model. Couple that with the fact that, just like sound waves, radio waves can interact with each other. Combinations different frequencies can cause additive and subtractive child frequencies, thus in effect creating frequencies that are not in the normal range of said device. Therefore, to the FAA, this makes cellphones an X-Factor.
The only possible way that the FAA would allow certain cell phones is if they were to test every single model from every single provider. That is near impossible to do, considering the money and man hours that would have to go into it. On top of that, what if some cell phones were safe and some weren't for whatever reason? You gonna post a list of banned cell phones? Who is going to make sure that phones from this list either don't get turned on or don't make it on the plane at all? Are you going to train all airline personnel to identify every phone on said list? Even more simple than that, if you don't create a all or nothing policy, jealousy ensues and you will have alot more outraged airline customers.
If none of this sinks in, consider where the FAA's roots are. If it weren't for the Air Force, the FAA wouldn't exist. The FAA carries a similar mindset as the USAF. You way the severity of the consequences. If the end result is dangerous (say like equipment on an airliner failing, potentially causing the deaths of everone one on board), no matter how often it might happen, you don't allow it. At all. Period. End of discussion. - rebotfc, on 10/15/2007, -13/+86No I can't because mobiles are perfectly safe on planes, as well as in hospitals its just FUD that prevents their use.
- inactive, on 10/18/2007, -3/+74A really expensive hooker wouldn't have AIDS, that's why they're expensive, duh.
- gllopc, on 10/20/2007, -1/+68I had this exact problem the other day. After which point I decided to hide the phone as much as possible. Airplane mode isn't new to phones, though.
- suprxtragrav, on 12/09/2008, -8/+75i thought cellpyhones dont work on airplanes?
i've tried using mine and i dont get service - SuitCase874, on 10/14/2007, -3/+66Have you ever got on a plane, man? It's hard to get by without some form of entertainment, and an iPhone (or iPod, or other musicvideo player) really helps.
- abrooks, on 10/18/2007, -10/+69So when you're flying through all those phone antennas that are covering the skies in signals, how come that doesn't cause interference?
- earlycj5, on 10/18/2007, -4/+61When I was on a flight about two weeks ago the flight attendant announced that cell phones were to be turned off and added "yes, even if it has airplane mode you must turn it off."
I think that was pretty clear in that case. - TheColonel, on 10/16/2007, -2/+59it's usually minuscule odds that are involved in most air crashes...
- inactive, on 10/17/2007, -18/+74Who the ***** cares? Is this really news worthy?
The list of things allowed or not allowed on planes is illogical and completely inconsistant, its been this way for years, just sit down, shut the ***** up, and live with it. Or you can take the train. - inactive, on 10/15/2007, -7/+59he is not jealous. He is just a little bitch.
- inactive, on 10/20/2007, -28/+80after this story apple fanatics will think they invented it.
- dubloe7, on 10/15/2007, -2/+52well, I guess 'Airplane mode' is an ambiguous name...
plus there haven't been hundreds of phones before it with this feature.
also, since where in bizarro world, if the plane loses control we can always count on Superman to save us! - BryanJK, on 10/17/2007, -0/+48It's like school all over again...
- geminitojanus, on 10/16/2007, -2/+50Ever think that might be due to the fact you're 35,000 feet over (not to count the distance away from) your nearest cell tower? There have been some tests with planes carrying signal repeaters and satellite-based IP connectivity, but nothing much has come of it, and the FAA still doesn't like cellphones.
- turpenine, on 10/15/2007, -2/+50modern airliners have no problem with the radio frequencies dealt out by phones and laptops. If you are on a small aircraft it might interfere maybe... It really is stupid how they ban them.
- Davekcon, on 10/16/2007, -4/+48i wouldn't do anything secretive on an airplane, especially with an electronic device
- Thorin, on 10/16/2007, -16/+58The whole mobile phone issue on plane's is absolutely ridiculous. So I can't have 105ml of liquid in a bottle in case it's a bomb, or nail clippers in case I murder people with them, but I can have a mobile phone, even though you insist on telling me that just by turning it on I could crash the plane? Riiiiiiiight....
- inactive, on 10/16/2007, -2/+44Hide the iphone behind a book, will look like you're reading. I mean, do not modify the book, customs will suspect you're trying smuggle some *****. Just flip the page over it when the flight attandent walk by.
- jonbeckett73, on 10/17/2007, -6/+44This argument continues to amaze me. There have been countless "unexplained" problems with navigation systems that went away after all electronic devices were switched off. It amazes me that people (in general) are still so ignorant to the fact that phones and wifi devices pump out *massive* amounts of radio interference.
- kingborel, on 10/15/2007, -3/+40Last flight I went on I was told to ensure my phone was either off or on flight mode
- jessicass, on 10/27/2007, -7/+42You'll safely land either way. I'd prefer to NOT blindly follow arbitrary orders, but hey.. that's just me.
- grumpyrain, on 10/14/2007, -8/+43Sure, but not understanding the technology behind mobile networks and data cable shielding standards doesn't automatically make them a 'clueless flight attendant'. If they have been told that certain devices must be switched off, why would they question it? Being a dick about it doesn't really help your cause either.
Despite my reasonable level of phone use, I am actually glad phones are banned on flights. The last thing I want is yet another place the office can disturb me, or to sit next to some tool who thinks the world needs to hear their life story of 'no, you hang up first' drag out. - mbrane, on 10/16/2007, -10/+45"Shut Up and Do What You're Told" - Nice to see the new American Spirit is alive and well.
- mescad, on 10/14/2007, -3/+37Any hospital equipment that matters should be shielded from stray RF signals.
- CavemanUK, on 10/16/2007, -2/+35"somebody" needs a hug
- inactive, on 10/15/2007, -5/+37Well his mom didn't have AIDS... *and* she was cheap.
- DangerCollie, on 10/16/2007, -6/+37"I'm sure you can understand her anxiety though."
I suppose being an ignorant twit is very stressful. When you are clueless and tense the world would have to look like a very dangerous place. It would be easy to imagine all manner of threats in every day objects.
Ignorance is the only growth industry in America. - deanau, on 10/15/2007, -4/+35How many planes have crashed due to someone having their phone on?
- AliasHandler, on 10/16/2007, -3/+31Wow. Your logic is undeniable.
- Ireland, on 10/15/2007, -1/+28You forgot to turn on Airplane mode.
- jessicass, on 10/14/2007, -6/+33Thats sort of a slippery slope to go down. Giving flight attendants carte blanche to be irrational every time they "don't feel comfortable" will only serve to perpetuate this trend of overreacting by people in positions of "authority."
- stgeorge, on 10/15/2007, -7/+33"Pretty clear" but stupid... what's the point of Airplane mode if you can't use it on an Airplane? It's just clueless idiocy (and in some cases, a power rush) to force people to turn off cell phones. Cell phones on full blast don't have ANY effect on a plane (proven numerous times) and they don't blow up gas stations.
- MBHoy, on 10/16/2007, -16/+42Flight Attendant's knowledge of the technology world does seem more outdated than anyone elses.
Poor guy had to put his airplane safe iPhone away, yet you always see kids connecting up their Nintendo DSs and playing multiplayer to waste away the hours. You also usually hear them shouting about it the whole journey, a lot louder than the average phone call. - dubloe7, on 10/16/2007, -2/+28it was explained to me, by another pilot, that while phone/wifi/bluetooth signals don't interfere with anything, they're worried about multiple phone/wifi/bluetooth/etc signals converging (constructive interference) to make a signal that would actually interfere with something.
i lol'd at the minuscule odds of such an occurrence. - mbrane, on 10/16/2007, -17/+42Reading a number of these comments, it would appear that the spirit of liberty in the US has been replaced by "Do your patriotic duty: Shut up and do what you're told.", and if you're lucky you won't get tasered.
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