I suspect that the antennas used by the providers have very limited vertical
beam width. I have T-Mobile service, which is quite good in most areas.
However, I didn't have service on the observation deck of the Empire State
Building in New York last year.
Mike Schumann
"Ray Lovinggood" wrote in
message ...
The few times I've even thought about using my cell
phone while in the glider, I never could get a signal.
I was always flying over populated areas where, on
the ground, I usually get good signal coverage.
My service provider is Alltel. Is my lack of signal
in the air due to the phone I have, the service provider,
the cell phone tower locations and orientation?
Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
At 02:42 28 April 2007, Eric Greenwell wrote:
A recent article highlights the AOPA's advocacy of
in-flight cell phone use:
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsite...070426fcc.html
It references this March 2005 article,
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsite...50328cell.html
which states in part:
Despite the concern in some quarters that cell phones
might cause
interference with aircraft radios and navigation equipment,
the FAA
has never prohibited their use for aircraft operating
under VFR. The
aviation agency always has given pilots the final
authority on what
portable electronic devices could be used in the flight.
And AOPA
talked with several major cell phone service providers
and found no
restrictions on using their services in GA cockpits.
So, the FAA doesn't care if we use mobile phones in
our gliders, and the
networks don't mind if we use mobile phones in our
gliders, and with a
complete lack of reported problems from doing so, I'd
like to suggest
using a mobile phone in a glider doesn't produce any
victims. I further
suggest if safety or your spouses peace of mind is
a stake, you can make
a call on your mobile without guilt.
Perhaps our discussions about in-flight use of mobile
phones should
shift to why the FCC is so far behind the users and
providers of mobile
phones.
--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change 'netto' to 'net' to email me directly
* 'Transponders in Sailplanes' http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* 'A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation' at
www.motorglider.org
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