Using a GPS on an airplane?
 

I use to bring a handheld device with me to record my flights. The problem is that reception gets worse and worse as I move away from the window. Anyone here have an idea on how to strap the handheld device to the window so that it can have the best possible reception?

It seems like my GPS device doesn't work on B787s. I suspect it has to do with the windows as I don't have any issues on other airplanes including the Airbus A350. Anything that I can do to address this issue on the Dreamliner?

Thanks!

How about a suction cup mount to the window?

Didn't crossed my mind. Will suction cups work on an airplane window?

GPS on an airplane is going to be very marginal at best because the amount of sky you can see from your seat is quite limited and GPS requires something approximating line of sight to 4 satellites or it just thumbs it's nose at you.

In addition to the idea of suction cupping it to the window you also might fare better with an overwing seat--that big sheet of metal out there will bounce the signal to some degree and thus let you see a lot more sky. This degrades the fix but not enough to be meaningful in this situation.

(The GPSes on the airplane itself use an external antenna, they aren't stuck trying to look out through a window.)

Besides a suction cup, is there anything else that I can use to hang the GPS near the window?

I found that GPS works quite well all over Europe no matter where I'm sitting, but these are probably smaller aircraft. First of all I set the phone in airplane mode, of course.

I usually find holding my phone to the window is enough for google maps to show me my location.

If you want to record: why not use flight radar to just download the flight data afterwards? That will save you the trouble.

I have had some success by trapping the unit with the window shade against the lower sill. Of course it all depends on the design.

That won't work for OP though as 787 does not have window shade right? (never been on one). Suction cup is probably the easiest but I think if a flight attendant sees it, he/she might ask you to take it down as it could become dangerous in a turbulence (flying object launch toward your head similar to mounting on a windshield of cars).

Ok, let's get the B787 out of the way first... Your GPS isn't likely to work attached to the windows as the "shades" are electric. There is an electrical current that runs through a gel in the window (how much current determines how dark the shades go). That'll interfere with most "radio-type" electronics...

Now, for a worse signal the further inside you get in the plane, consider all the wiring that is involved... IFE mostly, but wiring to control the other various systems in the plane like communications, engine and wing controls... then there's the fusoelage of the plane itself. you're sitting inside what is effectively a type of faraday cage. If you get signal while sitting in the central aisle, you're lucky. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do. There's not much you can do except to try to get a seat by a window. As for hanging it off a window, I'd check to see if there is a suction cup mount for your GPS device. If it's a smartphone, there are many you can find on Amazon. They might not work in heavy turbulence (they're not meant to stand up against that) and you may annoy the cabin crew (I've seen them ask "vloggers" to unmount them) but for the most part, they do work.

As a previous poster has said, maybe something like flightradar24 might be a better way to record your path.

You got a background in engineering?

Actually three for 2D coordinates (triangulation), 4 to add 3D (which yields altitude). Nowadays more handheld GPSs and Smartphone support many of the other positioning systems too (GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, etc.) With well over 100 positioning satellites now, it's virtually impossible to not be able to see at least a half dozen or so of these at any time at say FL350 (from the non-electrified window anyway).

From the 787 pilots I have discussed this with, they don't know of a good workaround for GPS in the back of the bus for the reasons noted by our friend StuckInYYZ . I've heard a variety of stories from mounting the external GPS to the furthest back window on the captains side, to an interesting tape effort to the escape hatch are successful; but alas I'm not sure those will help those of us in the cheap seats too much.

I'd find a friend with a suction cup mounted GPS to try in a 787 before you spend money on one. Hopefully 2021 will yield some long-haul flights for me again; if so I'll try it with my Stratus & Foreflight. I don't normally carry that for commercial flights, but I'm all for experimenting. #science

A longtime Flyertalker was kind enough to PM me about old (now closed) threads on this subject, which may be of passing interest. Due to the age of the other threads and changes in technology over the last dozen years, it wouldn't make much sense to combine them, but readers may find some postings of interest:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...ight=GPS+plane

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...ight=GPS+plane

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...ight=GPS+plane

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...ight=GPS+plane

Thanks for the links. Interesting read to remember the cell phone restrictions pre inflight wifi/entertainment.