Ask My Sky Mom. Aviation wit and wisdom.

Hey Mom,

I just wondered why exactly I can’t use my cell phone on the plane. I mean, they let you use the internet now, and they’ve been letting us use THEIR phones for years. So what gives? Why not my harmless looking little cell phone?

Thanks,

Hang On, I’ll Have to Call You Back When I Get There

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t hang up, Hang On! We’ll get this figured out yet.

So why not? Well, the main technical concern is potential interference with navigation or communication equipment. How likely is that? Not very. Shielded wiring and associated support structures have been in use to prevent these sorts of issues since the 60’s. Still, a break in the shielding is all it might take to cause…deviations.  Mythbusters famously did a piece on this, with mixed results: The phone DID cause interferance with VOR equipment outside of an actual aircraft, but then when they tested in a well shielded Hawker (on the ground) there was no apparent deviation. Anecdotally, I’ve heard more than one story about a regional pilot who’s cell phone went off at an inopportune moment, causing noticeable glideslope interfence. The bottom line is that there are so many different potential navigation systems in place and so many variations in cell phone signal and power that the liability involved in testing all possible combinations could be prohibitive. Neither the airlines nor the FCC has been sufficiently motivated to pony up the funds to find out with certainty.

The other frequently proffered story is that the cell phone companies have petitioned the FCC to outlaw cell phone use in flight because of the number of cell towers your phone will connect with at altitude. Now we have channel reuse issues, decreasing overall system capacity. This can be mitigated by installing the appropriate equipment in the aircraft, which is being done more and more frequently. Basically, the equipment funnels all calls made from a given plane to one of several preselected stations, thereby eliminating the blanket impact on all stations passed. Cool.

This last argument may be the most convincing: Do you really want to listen to that boring weirdo next you yakking on, maybe for hours, about what they’ve been up to lately? Yeah, me neither. Most people don’t. The demand for quiet times during long flights or phone free areas has as much to do with passenger peace and consideration as anything else. As the technology to allow us to talk to the ground bound as we zing  through the sky at hundreds of miles an hour in a pressurized metal tube continues to become more widely available, we may see the issue of passenger preference and a new form of air rage take center stage. Emirates has been allowing phones on planes for some time. Check out this interview for some interesting statistics related to that experience.

In the meantime, DO mind your flight attendant. Do NOT forget that the person wielding the drink cart can have you thrown off the flight for failure to comply with crew member instructions. And please, be considerate in your cell phone usage, be ye skulking around at the airport waiting for your flight or already aboard. Those couple of hundred people about to board with you really, really did not want to hear about that rash.

Talk to you later. Call me when you get there,

Mom

_____________________________

You’ve got questions? I’ll find you an answer. Email your aviation related question to mom@myskymom.com and check out myskymom.com to read the answers to questions previously posted. An educated pilot is a safe pilot is a happy pilot.  Remember, the only stupid question is the one you didn’t ask! Fly smart, fly safe, fly happy.

~ by myskymom on February 8, 2010.