Does AC have in-flight maps of current geographical position
 

I love those in-flight maps on Trans-Atlantic flights. Does AC do those?

I'm flying A330 and 767-300

thanks!

Definitely yes for the A330. The 767-300 have variants and one older version does not have the flight map system.

great! There's nothing more exciting than a "visual countdown" of arrival to the destination!

It's called AirShow:

http://www.airshowinc.com/

[This message has been edited by jral (edited 11-11-2002).]

To each his own I suppose. I can think of many things more exciting. But we won't go there.

I was on an AC A319 (fin 267) recently for a YYC-YVR flight and the flight show was turned on by the FA. I know many of the newer A319/320/321's have this feature but the FAs just don't turn them on ....

A few days ago, the YWG-YYZ 319 had the airshow turned on.

Thanks for the info everyone! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Or, to be certain you'll have an airshow every flight, you can purchase a handheld GPS unit.

If you like the countdown, you can ask it to show you miles/kliks/knots (great circle) to destination and estimated time (based on a moving average of groundspeed) to destination.

If you've got a mapping unit, it's nice to be able to see what all those little (and big) towns passing beneath are called.

Mine's a Garmin eMap and I take it with me every trip.

Both AC and WS policy permit them once you're above 10,000, however Transport Canada requires that you tell FA if you're using anything beyond the enumerated (laptop, walkman, etc) list.

You'll need a window seat for it to work and you'll need to educate most of the FAs as to what the heck it is (more WestJet FAs seem familiar with them than AC). If they don't know or are unsure, WestJet FAs look it up in their manual, AC seem to prefer to ask the pilot. When the FA flat-out says "no" (I've only encountered this on AC), I just request they ask the pilot. Pilot unfailingly gives permission, and, on one occasion, the message from the flight deck was, "Let us know if we're getting off-course"

Use it on the ground to find street addresses in strange towns (providing you have detail maps for the town in question loaded).

If you need to see one in action before investing somewhere between $175 and $1500, rent a Hertz car and pay a few bucks extra for "Neverlost" option.

Of all my gadgetry, this is my absolute favourite.

Sounds fascinating! I'll have to look into that. I've wanted a GPS unit for sometime - this may just be my excuse to purchase one.

I just wasn't aware you could take them on aircraft. What great fun http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I used one in a loaned car in the UK.

Fantastic. Never got lost and that melodious voice always announced "You have arrived at destination" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I've used my Garmin III Plus on almost every flight in the past three years. (70+ flights)
I've been asked to turn it off a few times, primarily on AA and once on AS. AC is always fine with it.

There's an unofficial list of who does and who does not allow it here: http://www.gpsinformation.net/airgps/airgps.htm

I must say that this mapping GPS is absolutely the best thing I have ever bought and I use it for travel of every description.

Because the thing is just a (very low powered) receiver and not a transmitter, it poses minimal risk. Of course if you drop the thing and some oscillator thing gets wonkered (sorry, my electronic expertise is pretty abysmal), it could conceivably become a transmitter of sorts. That's why they restrict them, like laptops, to above 10,000 feet (that's usually when the seatbelt sign goes off). Then, if they should start emitting significant RF signals which adversely affect avionics, the crew can do something about it when there's a couple of miles of air between aircraft and terra firma. Not so when gear is down and altitude is 175 ft.

Dunno if they have a different voice for UK units, but I started to refer to the Hertz/Neverlost/Magellan unit as "Lorelei". Same (soft, breathy) voice in Canada and US, by the way. Sounds like a young lovely who has been freshly, ummmm, ravished.

Most of the handheld units (mine included) simply beep and show a "Arriving at destination" message on the display screen. Too much sacrifice in portability to add RAM for messages and a speaker, I would presume. Most handhelds are about the size of a pocket calculator -- 5-9 ounces (150-250 g) including batteries. Easily shirt pocket size.

I don't pretend to know anything about FAA regulations, but I do Transport Canada requires that you notify crew of any devices used (aside from the ones mentioned in the "laptop/personal entertainment device" announcement before take-off). The reason for this is not to ask permission (although, as I mentioned above, most FAs seem to think it is), but rather to let them know what's going on in the cabin, in case there's a problem with avionics. If they know that the guy in 2F has (an electronic device not on the enumerated list) and something goes wonky on the flight deck, they know to ask the guy in 2F to shut his device down (to find out if the problem gets rectified when device is de-activated) rather than search the entire cabin for a potential RF source.

Evidently this all arises from an instance (single?) where a handheld game (something like a GameBoy, but not a GameBoy) managed to emit the right frequency at sufficient strength to disengage the autopilot on some craft, somewhere (this story related to me by a WestJet Captain when I asked specifically about whether there was any need to inform the crew about my GPS every flight). Evidently handheld games are exempt from some of the more stringent FCC/Industry Canada requirements for RF shielding.

So if yer just switching the thing on and waiting for them to tell you otherwise, you're transgressing Transport Canada regulations. I would hesitant to do so, simply because the carrier can boot you off (forever?) for having ignored Transport Canada regs which are announced at the start of every flight. Even if the airline's own policy is to permit such devices. Far easier to tell cabin crew every time (even if you have to explain what GPS is, even if you have to insist on them asking the Captain). I'd much rather jump through the hoops than take a chance on getting booted off AC and getting stuck with a pocketfull of points.

Or being the one who inadvertently turned an aluminum bird into a homesick anvil.