Why GPS's are not allowed on commercial airliners

[+user13371]

 

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LDR.

[+David]

Funny.

 

I took my GPS on a trip last week. It was cool knowing we were at 37000 feet doing 540 MPH. from my window seat, most landmarks were comfortably seen at about 6 miles away.

[+sbukosky]

quote:

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Originally posted by kd4adc:I took my GPS on a trip last week. It was cool knowing we were at 37000 feet doing 540 MPH. from my window seat, most landmarks were comfortably seen at about 6 miles away.

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Not too good considering straight down was 7 miles away!!

 

Steve Bukosky N9BGH

Waukesha Wisconsin

[+GOT GPS?]

I think that he meant that landmarks, 6 miles from his GPS Position were quite visible. That would be a comfortable viewing angle out the window.(His position on the map versus the landmarks on the same map).

 

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[+David]

quote:

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Originally posted by GOT GPS?:

I think that he meant that landmarks, 6 miles from his GPS Position were quite visible. That would be a comfortable viewing angle out the window.(His position on the map versus the landmarks on the same map).

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Correct.

[+TEAM 360]

I flew back from Detroit, Michigan to Phoenix, Arizona a couple of weeks ago and decided to check out the airlines policy about GPSr's.

 

I went to the different check-in areas by the gates and asked about their policy, and this is what I was told by each of the following representatives:

 

America West does not allow GPS to be used at ANY time.

United Airlines told me the same thing.

American and Delta Airlines didn't even know what a GPSr was.

Southwest WILL allow GPS at cruising (God bless 'em).

 

Looks like I will be flying Southwest as my first choice of travel from here out.

Now, I know what the policy on electronics are, but it was cool to see:

On an A320:

At 160 mph the nose came up.

At 180 mph the back wheels left the ground.

At 734' we were at 311 mph.

At 20,267' we hit 495 mph.

It took only about 10 minutes to fly across Lake Michigan, from the Michigan side to the Illinois side, as we were obviously on a route to Chicago airspace before turning southwest.

[+TEAM 360]

Something else I noticed about America West. Although they ban GPSr's use completely, they will allow laptop computers and PDAs to be used. Now, don't they create a lot more "interference" than my little GPSr? Besides, GPSr "interference" isn't even on the same frequency that is used for aviation, if I remember correctly. I know, this has been discussed already.

[+sbell111]

quote:

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Originally posted by TEAM 360:

...Now, I know what the policy on electronics are, but it was cool to see:

On an A320:

At 160 mph the nose came up.

At 180 mph the back wheels left the ground.

At 734' we were at 311 mph...

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If its not too much trouble, please follow the rules and only use it at cruise. The life you save may be mine.

[+cachew nut]

I routinely use my GPSr on United flights. You are not allowed to use them until 10 minutes after take-off. Other than that, no problems. Sometimes the flight attendants will come and ask me what our position is. They find it especially interesting when it is hooked to my laptop and I could show our movements on a map.

[+TEAM 360]

quote:

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Originally posted by sbell111:

quote:

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Originally posted by TEAM 360:

...Now, I know what the policy on electronics are, but it was cool to see:

On an A320:

At 160 mph the nose came up.

At 180 mph the back wheels left the ground.

At 734' we were at 311 mph...

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If its not too much trouble, please follow the rules and only use it at cruise. The life you save may be mine.

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Oh, come on. I knew THAT was coming. Do you actually think that the plane is gonna flip because I turned on my GPS? Or that the pilot, who is looking out the window and has his hands on the yoke, is gonna freak out and drive the plane into the ground based on an instrument reading rather than what he sees out the window? "OH MY GOD, one readout says we are off by .5 degrees, I have to slam this plane into a death dive NOW!" LOL!

Let's not forget about the all the people who turn on their cell phones before opening the door, the pilot might get confused and turn down Interstate 10 instead of pulling up to the right gate.

[+sbell111]

Do me a favor and do a forum search on this issue. It has been discussed to death and explained well by people who are qualified to do so.

[+TEAM 360]

Oh, okay.

[+sbell111]

Here's one of the better ones. Funny thing, you actually participated in the discussion. I guess you're just trying to incite the conversation.

[+Nurse Dave]

Alaska Air also does not allow them at all.

 

---Real men cache in shorts.

[+TEAM 360]

What's really funny is that everyone around here says "Do a search, thats been discussed before". Well, in that case, EVERYTHING has been already discussed on this board. Everyone should just do a search instead of posting ANYTHING from here on out. Maybe just get rid of the "post feature" completely, and make this a read-only board. Maybe I did participate in that discussion, I was just adding some input to THIS one. What, I posted something in a related topic, so I am not allowed to post again in a similar one? Don't tell me we have ANOTHER rule around here!

[+sbell111]

My original comment regarding a search was because I knew the dangers had been well presented previously. I would do the topic a disservice by attempting to recall the specifics. As it turned out, you also were aware of this previous discussion. This leaves me to conclude that you are not merely presenting your view. You are taking a contrary position to cause disruption.

[+TEAM 360]

No. All I did was post about the takeoff speeds and altitude, thinking that others MIGHT find it interesting, rather than using it for a chance to tell me how bad I am for turning on a GPSr while on a plane. You responded by telling me to "obey the rules". I will most certainly not mention how many times I have jaywalked, cut across someones lawn, or ran a yellow light, lest I be flamed in here. sbell111, I refuse to get into a flame war with you. Have a fantastic day. Really.

[+sbell111]

quote:

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Originally posted by TEAM 360:

... rather than using it for a chance to tell me how bad I am for turning on a GPSr while on a plane. You responded by telling me to "obey the rules"...

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Actually, I responded by politely asking you to only usie it during cruise, citing a possible dangers to my health. Regarding your other infractions: Please don't cut across my yard. Its rude. Jaywalking and trunning yellow lights should only be done with caution, as you could endanger others.

[+Freelens&Mosie]

I agree with Team 360 on this one. Mostly because you couldn't screw up the airplanes communications or flight controls if you brought a GHz sig. gen and swept it back and forth at full power. The reason is bogus. I for one wouldn't want to fly on an airplane that was so vulnerable. What happens when you fly over a microwave tower, or get swept by numerous radar beams from the ground or other planes. Gimme a break. For everyones information, I hid my GPSr from the stewardess so I could see exactly what the original author of this thread wanted to see. We all survived.

 

Wisdom comes with age... but sometimes age comes alone.

[+blindleader]

quote:

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At 734' we were at 311 mph...

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Must have been a bad reading in the GPSR because 1. the speed limit below 10,000' is 250kt 2. its 200kt (230mph) in busy airspace. 3. During climbout, an airliner is going for best climb speed (Vy) which is not very far above takeoff speed.

 

quote:

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Besides, GPSr "interference" isn't even on the same frequency that is used for aviation

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Not to be overly snide in pointing out the obvious, but, what frequency do you suppose the aviation GPSRs use?

 

quote:

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Mostly because you couldn't screw up the airplanes communications or flight controls if you brought a GHz sig. gen and swept it back and forth at full power.

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Of course not. Not without an amplifier and appropriate antenna. With them… I’ll bet I could screw them up big time.

 

quote:

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What happens when you fly over a microwave tower, or get swept by numerous radar beams from the ground or other planes.

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What happens is that all the electronics on the aircraft have been designed and tested at huge expense to handle those specific threats. I, know because I spend more than a year in and out of screen rooms with a piece of 747. It's true that there is probably no significant danger from GPSRs but "probably" just doesn't cut it in aviation. Until actual testing is done to see what the susceptibility of avionics is to the emissions of GPSRs, airlines will probably cover their asses the easy and safe way by prohibiting them during critical flight phases.

 

As for what's going to happen if some instrument reading is wrong... I was involved in the investigation of an incident where a DC-10 crew aborted a takeoff in response to "some instrument reading" lying to them about how the flaps were set. Turns out they were a bit too far down the runway for the condition of the brakes and the result was one broken back and one broken jumbo jet that had to be sold for parts.

[+sbell111]

quote:

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Originally posted by Freelens&Mosie:...

For everyones information, I hid my GPSr from the stewardess so I could see exactly what the original author of this thread wanted to see. We all survived...

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Imagine your embarrasment if the plane had crashed. All told, I'd just as soon obey the rules of the airline and the instructions of the crew. It being federal law and all.