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Are Airplanes Really Messed Up By Electrical Devices

Go2Guy

Go2Guy

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2006
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Houston, TX
Why the heck can't we build an airplane that doesn't go haywire from simple electrical devices like an Apple iPod ??

"...A single Blackberry or iPad can cause the auto pilot to disengage and critical warning lights to come on, testers discovered.
​
The instruments which guide pilots in bad weather can also be affected by the electrical signals from such devices - with potentially catastrophic consequences...."




Southwest Airlines passenger arrested after refusing to turn off cell phone | Mail Online
 
Electronic devices aren't likely to to mess up an airplane's communication system; there's virtually no chance that it could happen. But when a pilot has to hear the flight crew perfectly to launch a 40 ton metal rocket into the sky, do you really want to take that chance just so you can listen to the latest Nerdist podcast?

Why do all Electronics Have to be Turned Off for Takeoff and Landing?
 
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I'm pretty sure they aren't screwed up by electronic devices, but I don't know why they would have you turn them off before take off if they weren't.

And also in before Plane on Treadmill comment.
 
They don't do anything to the plane.

When I have had opportunities to fly private for work the crew always tells you that you are welcome to use any electronic devices, this includes cell phones.

However cell phones don't tend to work very well because you are flying a lot faster then you drive and therefore the phone goes from tower to tower and is always droppng calls. Texting works okay.
 
I remember seeing something that said standard wiring insulation in a plane will prevent any issues. That being said, airlines don't want to take the risk of having a plane crash because there was wiring that didn't have standard insulation.
 
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I read an IEEE article about this in an electromagnetics class.

Basically electronics(even ones that don't transmit EM waves via antennas such as cell phones), still radiate very small amounts of energy. The thing about airplanes is that if electronics are placed at certain points inside the aluminum hull, it can cause these extremely small EM waves to resonate, and become very large and potentially harmful to the sensitive antennas and other things located on the outside or cockpit of the plane.

Basically what I gleaned from the study and experiments is that I don't believe things like cell phones or wireless cards should be allowed to used on planes at ANY time during the flight, due to the sensitive antennas used on aircraft. And small electronics should be allowed to be used only when the plane is at cruising altitude. (i.e. if something is affected at that altitude the pilot will have enough time to detect that it's going on and tell everyone in the plane they must turn their electronics off) Not claiming to be an expert but I feel like that's what IEEE was getting at, and they probably know better than I do :p
 
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It's a "better safe than sorry" scenario. Cell phones probably don't cause problems as is, but the category of "handheld electronic devices" is a pretty broad one, and there are likely devices out there that could cause problems with the plane's systems. Rather than have flight attendants police every single handheld device to determine if it's okay to be powered on during takeoff and landing, they just issue a blanket statement that all of them have to be turned off. Seems pretty logical to me.
 
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Just the man trying to get us to put away our iPads and read through the SkyMall magazine.
 
sdillon500 said:
Electronic devices aren't likely to to mess up an airplane's communication system; there's virtually no chance that it could happen. But when a pilot has to hear the flight crew perfectly to launch a 40 ton metal rocket into the sky, do you really want to take that chance just so you can listen to the latest Nerdist podcast?

Why do all Electronics Have to be Turned Off for Takeoff and Landing?
Click to expand...


Of course not; but it begs the question, why not build airplanes that dont' get screwed up by a simple 3-volt electrical device??

Not an electrical engineer, but I believe iPods don't send out any wireless signals, and come on, how much EMF can that dinky device generate?
 
Shockin said:
They don't do anything to the plane.

When I have had opportunities to fly private for work the crew always tells you that you are welcome to use any electronic devices, this includes cell phones.

.
Click to expand...

And one would think those smaller planes would be much more susceptible to EMF interference.
 
I had a flight attendant tell me that even IF it didn't do anything to the plane/avionics the airlines would still want devices off because most emergencies happen during take-off and landing and they wan your full attention and they don't want [extra] debris flying around if something bad happens.
 
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driegner said:
I had a flight attendant tell me that even IF it didn't do anything to the plane/avionics the airlines would still want devices off because most emergencies happen during take-off and landing and they wan your full attention and they don't want [extra] debris flying around if something bad happens.
Click to expand...

For those of us who travel on planes frequently and hate cellphone talkers, lets just assume that any stray electronic emanation will greatly increase the chances of a cataclysmic air calamity. That way I just have to stew about the crappy seat partner next to me and not hearing the jerk 5 rows back calling his peeps.
 
driegner said:
I had a flight attendant tell me that even IF it didn't do anything to the plane/avionics the airlines would still want devices off because most emergencies happen during take-off and landing and they wan your full attention and they don't want [extra] debris flying around if something bad happens.
Click to expand...

This is what I always assumed was the real reason. If my device could pose a realistic risk, we wouldn't be doing this on the honor system.
 
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