The FAA now allows you to use your ipod, ipad, cell phone and I assume computers at all times as long as it is in "airplane mode". FAA allowing most electronic device use throughout flights - CNN.com So, how do you enforce this? It's impossible to see the little logos of airplane mode on 200 people on a plane. At least before you could see if anyone was using their device and so you knew that all transmitters were off. Now, it seems like almost everyone will cheat and search the internet or text while taking off and landing. I can't tell you how many times I've had people next to me just text the entire time of the flight. Now, with this new rule, it seems like everyone will.
The plane's wifi won't be accessible below 10,000ft, but beyond that enforcement won't be really effective. Obviously they'll know if someone is talking on a phone, but texting on or near the ground will be hard to police. Not too long after takeoff, cell service won't be useful anyway. Mark
They couldn't enforce it before either. I NEVER turned my phone or other devices to anything other than airplane mode, and that only if I remembered (which I usually do, since not doing it runs the battery down pretty quickly). I bet if you did a random check last week of all devices passengers had on an airplane, fewer than half of them would be in airplane mode or off. I doubt if that ratio will change much.
For what it's worth, a few years back, I worked for a company that owned or leased a Lear Jet. I was never on it, but I was (sort of) friends with a guy who flew on it pretty routinely. This guy told me that he once asked the pilot if there really was a chance that passengers' electronic devices could interfere with navigation or other avionics. The answer he got was something to the effect of "not really". Are the new rules simply an acknowledgement of this? Maybe other pilots can chime in...
The short answer is that it doesn't make much difference. The problem historically has been, how can you PROVE that it doesn't make a difference? As we all know, it's impossible to prove a negative. So yes, the new rules are just an acknowledgement of that.
The FCC actually allocates frequencies for all these devices that transmit and receive so they will not interfere with each other. There may be harmonics that could theoretically interfere, but those are generally of much lower power and unlikely to bother anything. One reason cell phones are banned is probably because someone is likely to kill another passenger using one in typical brain-dead fashion. Last time I mentioned to a flight attendant that if everybody were allowed to use cell phones inflight I would probably kill someone, she said she would hold them down for me. All in kidding, but... I was an electronic warfare officer in the USAF and it was work intentionally jamming receivers.
I can't see how cell phone would work on a plane anyway (unless there were some kind of dedicated repeater in the cabin). Mine is completely dead inside my health club, which is in a metal building located in a metropolitan area. How could they possibly work sealed in an aluminum tube at 30,000 feet?
I was on a CRJ-900 a couple years ago. Before TO, they did the stardard blurb: "turn off all...etc." About 2 minutes later the stewardess came back and said the pilot was getting 'noise' and that someone's phone was still on. Asked whoever to please shut it off. He did.
