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didn't Mythbusters already rule on this?

What did they rule? I would guess no harm except from cellphones doing voice transmissions. Those do interfere with speakers. It drives me nuts when I leave my iPhone next to my speakers, and someone calls it.

Most of all, how the heck is an AM/FM radio supposed to interfere if it doesn't SEND any messages?
 
Nothing will replace airplanes "soon". Ever try to bullet-tube across the ocean? There's not a train in the world that can go as fast as a jet. Time is money.

Your point is still entirely valid, but I just thought I would add something to your comment. The current maglev trains that reach 250-300 mph would be able to do speeds of 1000 mph if they were in a vacuum. The cost to build such a vacuum tube from L.A. to New York with maybe a stop in Chicago can pretty much guarantee it will never happen in our lifetime, but that would definitely be as fast as the planes we currently fly. It sure is fun for me to think about anyway!
 
Chat with the passenger next to you...

Oh my God yes my world has ended because when I flew I had to shut down my iPad for 10 minutes, what is this world coming to?

I demand we all marsh to the White House in protest, we don't spend enough time with our iPads and iPhones and we spent way too much time interacting with fellow human beings...
 
Another thing to note is people are saying "They can do it why can't we?!" Pilots equipment is thoroughly tested by both FAA and respective airlines. Also they are trained professionals who shouldn't have to deal with these arguments those rules are out of their control.

Is society this much in the rat race that you can't wait 15 minutes to get the chime your at 10,000 feet?
 
i never turn my phone off or in airplane mode. i've also never been in a plane crash. i've sent numerous text and made calls from a commercial plane while in flight(lower altitudes where service is available), nothing bad has ever happened.

I do agree with you that it's not really a safety issue. However, you cannot just do whatever you decide. On a plane ,as in life, it's not just about you. It's about taking the safety of every other person on board into your hands. The Captain is the boss of every flight. Not any passenger. I fly all the time and if every passenger just did whatever he or she wanted to do it would be a safty risk. I do turn my phone to airplane mode simply because I don't want to take a chance on being wrong. Lots of innocent lives and families are not worth my text getting through.

I have been diverted to another airport once because a guy wouldn't get off his phone during a flight. FA ask nicely. He refused to listen. Captain landed the place. Had the guy removed and we were several hours late getting to our final distinction. Trust me his call/text wasn't that important. But he was only thinking about himself.
 
one reason is the pilots stuff is rigorously tested, and they aren't worried about your factory functioning iphone, but a malfunctioning chinese knockoff with a cheap unregulated 1GW transmitter wired wrong so that when you select airplane mode it actually puts out it's most powerful jamming signal or something stupid like that.

iphones=fine, chinese knockoffs=potentially sketchy.

during the super critical takeoff and landing, i'd rather just play it safe.
So, a crappy phone can interfere with the landing gear and pilots' ability to use a stick? There's a reason people say the rule is archaic. Seems like the FAA and FCC have never actually spoken to each other.
 
I can't believe this is seriously a thing.

is it really so damn hard to put your stuff away for the 10 minutes? you're in flight, it's not like you're connected anyways. whatever you're doing can wait.

I remember when this rule even applied to reading magazines and books. They were hardly electronic and yet we still had to put them away.

Edit:

Also, as fun as Mythbuster is... Cause I do love that show and love when they blow stuff up, But you need to really REALLY stop refering to them as some definitive source of science. They are not. Most of their tests are flawed, and anyone who's done any scientific study will tell you that, while they're results CAN be right, they are far away from a definitive source.
 
Turn your devices off!

Just last week, "Olga" the flight attendant (who incidentally won a silver medal in the 1984 shot put event) berated my ass for reading an iPhone during takeoff. One does not piss off Olga from United Air. :eek:

You made my day, thank you sir!
 
Because the two in the cockpit are mounted with a $150 mount and the 80 or so in the cabin are flying projectiles in case of an emergency. This is no longer a technical issue in my book with aircraft equip with IRS system's but is still certainly a safety concern which nobody seems to be talking about.

How is a hardcover book any less of a projectile? Or any of the other many, many non-electronic things people might have on a plane and use.

I find this argument silly. As stupid as the one banning pen-knives but allowing pens. Thankfully, they recognized how stupid that was and changed that rule.
 
Because the two in the cockpit are mounted with a $150 mount and the 80 or so in the cabin are flying projectiles in case of an emergency.

That's an interesting point that I'd never thought of. But as others have said, you're still allowed to hold other objects on takeoff (but that's probably not a preferred practice).

If that really were the reason, though, it seems as if the flight attendants would tell you to simply stow your electronic devices until you're in the air, not turn them off completely. IMO, if you're busy with your electronic device before and during takeoff, you wouldn't listen to their announcements and you'd be less inclined to watch their in-flight entertainment (and pay for their headphones).
 
About time, i flew to Panama and that airline didn't care at all about my iphone being on. So much more relaxing to sit down and be preoccupied during landing and take off by a movie or music.

^ this is the problem.

Its not about the electronics - its about communication. The ability to hear and understand instructions from the FA is the real issue now. Being prepared to evacuate during an emergency means be able to listen and understand instructions.

FWIW
DLM
 
There is the slightest, most remote possibility that commenters on this subject across every blog on the web actually have no clue what they're talking about...and that this drawn out process to establish the safety of using devices during take off/landing has some significant merit.

Just a thought.

Just a thought; how many flights have occurred over how many years with how many hundreds of millions of people leaving their phones and devices on, and yet not a single incident has been recorded? We have all the data in the world to support the fact that this is not dangerous.

Because the two in the cockpit are mounted with a $150 mount and the 80 or so in the cabin are flying projectiles in case of an emergency. This is no longer a technical issue in my book with aircraft equip with IRS system's but is still certainly a safety concern which nobody seems to be talking about.

This is ALWAYS talked about yet folks like you must not be paying attention. If the projectile issue were a concern, there would be restrictions on having books out during these times.

Oh my God yes my world has ended because when I flew I had to shut down my iPad for 10 minutes, what is this world coming to?

I demand we all marsh to the White House in protest, we don't spend enough time with our iPads and iPhones and we spent way too much time interacting with fellow human beings...

Reaching many airports in the US takes 2-3 connections. With taxi, takeoff and landing, the time period is actually more like 30 minutes on each end - IF there are no delays. With 2-3 connections in a day it is easy for the time that you are not allowed to use your devices to exceed the amount of time you can.
 
That's an interesting point that I'd never thought of. But as others have said, you're still allowed to hold other objects on takeoff (but that's probably not a preferred practice).

There used to be a time in which you couldn't. They've slowly relaxed on this (though I dont think i agree).

They used to tell you to put EVERYTHING away. books and magazines included. if it was take off or landing. Your hands were empty, your seet was straight up, your tray was up and you were doing nothing but grabbing your knees and holding on for deer life (or at least I was... maybe peeing myself a little)
 
Airplane mode saves some battery though.

i never turn my phone off or in airplane mode. i've also never been in a plane crash. i've sent numerous text and made calls from a commercial plane while in flight(lower altitudes where service is available), nothing bad has ever happened.


I'll turn my phone to airplane mode during flight, because it save the battery by not having the phone constantly searching for an available cell or wifi signal.

I can't turn my phone off even if I wanted to - I repaired a cracked screen, but broke the cable to the sleep button in the process. I have been using the accessibility feature on my phone to put it to sleep for the past 6 months. I figure its not worth it to fix the button when I will get a 5s soon anyway.
 
I don't know, the stories there are also pretty weak.

caused by passenger operation of a popular handheld electronic game device. In one of these cases, the flight crew confirmed the interference by turning the unit on and off to observe the correlation. The same unit was used on another flight and on a different airplane, but the event could not be duplicated. Boeing purchased two of the actual suspect units through the airline and tested them in the laboratory, along with three off-the-shelf units. It was determined that these suspect units had emission profiles similar to the off-the-shelf units and that the levels from these devices were below airplane equipment emission limits.
So, the problem was the equipment on that particular plane being damaged, and more susceptible to issues. Not comforted by the thought of making it better by kids not playing games, that's like saying the best way to avoid car accidents is to hide in your basement.
 
Oh my God yes my world has ended because when I flew I had to shut down my iPad for 10 minutes, what is this world coming to?

I demand we all marsh to the White House in protest, we don't spend enough time with our iPads and iPhones and we spent way too much time interacting with fellow human beings...

Turning off your electronic devices doesn't mean that everyone will blatantly speak to strangers.
 
Because the two in the cockpit are mounted with a $150 mount and the 80 or so in the cabin are flying projectiles in case of an emergency. This is no longer a technical issue in my book with aircraft equip with IRS system's but is still certainly a safety concern which nobody seems to be talking about.

you're in a giant metal tube containing hundreds of gallons of flammable liquid with a gazillion little gadgets and/or potential projectiles traveling at a very high rate of speed..

the least of my concerns in an emergency situation would be someone's cell phone hitting me in the head during a crash
 
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