Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!agate!nucsrl!telecom-request From: sbrack@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Steven S. Brack) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Airphones and TDD? Message-ID: Date: 10 Mar 91 02:20:50 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Reply-To: Steven.S.Brack@osu.edu Organization: The Ohio State University Lines: 42 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 195, Message 7 of 12 In article dave@westmark.westmark.com (Dave Levenson) writes: => In article , CER2520@ritvax.isc.rit.edu => (Curtis E. Reid) writes: =>> Before I do this, I need to know if any electronic equipment is =>> prohibited on an airplane while airborne? Could someone tell me =>> excatly what are the rules for operating such equipment on an =>> airplane? Thanks!! => The operation of most electronic equipment is prohibited aboard any => aircraft in flight under instrument flight rules (this includes => virtually all airline flights, and many general aviation flights). It => is up to the airline to enforce this rule, and to grant exceptions for => equipment which has been verified by the airline (or by the pilot, for => general aviation operations) not to cause interference with the => navigation or communications systems in use. While FAA regulations do prohibit the operation of devices that interfere with aircraft electronics under Instrument Flight Rules, the rules nearly all airliners must fly under, the FAA also makes it clear that "the pilot in command is solely responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft" (Federal Aviation Regulation 91.3). => If you're riding the airliner into a fogged-in airport, you wouldn't => want your lap-top interfering with the ILS receiver and directing you => into the ground. (I paraphrase, as the author's last line was lost) The threat posed by electronics to aircraft has been greatly exaggerated. In reality, aircraft electronics are by and large immune from the effects of EMR put out by personal electronics, such as laptops or TDDs. In fact, most airliner galleys, being all-electric, produce far greater EM fields than any personal electronic device. More specifically, the ILS system is designed so that even if the RF signal becomes unusable at the worst possible moment, the aircraft may still safely abort the landing. Steven S. Brack sbrack@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu sbrack@ewf.eng.ohio-state.edu (Avoid sending here, if possible)