Flying? PLEASE TURN CELLPHONE OFF

Originally Posted by BlueMikey

Cell phones may interfere with instruments, I don't know. But they regulate electronic usage so half-assed that I'm not convinced.

The way I understand it, if the wires that send the data from outside the plane to the meters aren't isolated properly, mobile phone or other microwave devices can mess with the transmitted data, messing up the readings. Electronic devices would also be a problem I guess, but you can't really expect people to switch all electronic devices off.

However, planes are tested a lot (I think once a week? Not sure on that one, but it's a lot), and obviously if they don't pass the tests, they can't fly.

If you're in a plane whose meters mess up because mobiles are switched on, that plane should not have been cleared for flight. Then again I certainly wouldn't put it past Turkish Airlines to fly with planes that haven't been isolated properly. =D

I do think it's a good idea to switch off mobiles though. If only because if I was on a 12 hour flight to LA, and that flight was punctuated with "HELLO I CAN'T HEAR YOU I'M ON A PLANE" calls, I would use one of those "safe" plastic breakfast sporks to take an eye out.

EDIT: Here's why the FCC banned it in the first place: "this ban was put in place because of potential interference to wireless networks on the ground". Then again, the FAA adds to that "potential interference to the aircraft’s navigation and communication systems".

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Locke

First of all, adding insulation to existing wiring (remember, MILES or wiring inside a modern airliner), would add ALOT of weight, more weight means less fuel, decreasing range. Also more airframe weight would decrease the available payload, meaning that the operator would loose more money, so I don't see it happenening anytime soon.

I have it on good authority (a VP of flight operations) that all wires on any remotely modern plane are shielded. It's true that older models may not have protected wires, and if that's the case they wouldn't add it. But no commercial airliner will fly a plane without shielded wires (except Turkish Airlines, apparently, which I'm duly warned against). RF signal can't mess with cockpits with shielded wires, and the reason why shielding your wires is a good idea should be pretty obvious even without mobile phones.

But like Chaotic says: you're only in the air for 20 hours at most. Just switch the damn things off. Too much cellphone will turn your head into a carrot. D:

There's nowhere I can't reach.