Originally Posted by
srilm
But rather than "better safe than sorry" I'm thinking more along the lines of "if you can't be off your cellphone for 15 minutes, you probably think you're way more important than you really are." If being off the cell or laptop for 15 minutes is too much, then you probably shouldn't be flying at all, since that means you're off the cell for at least a couple of hours. The benefit of using the device is negligible compared to the potential risk, even though that is also fairly low.
I do work in a safety-critical position with a USA security clearance, fly a lot, and am on call 24 hours a day. But I turn my stuff off when the time comes. If you have an inkling of time management skills, it's really not that difficult.
SR
I'm not sure I see your logic. Not flying at all would be impossible for my business, while being offline is simply undesirable. We went through this in another thread...of course 15 minutes extra downtime isn't the end of the world, but it's undesirable and I don't want to do it for no reason. Onboard WiFi has made flying much more productive for me. I have virtually no work to do that doesn't involve my computer, so time management doesn't enter into it. I realize most people aren't in this position, but it's somewhat presumptuous of you to imply that I'm being overly self-important just because I am clear about my priorities.
QL