I vaguely recall a thread about a year ago that addressed whether or not GPS units were allowed on planes. I tried to do a search here, and also on aa.com, but can't find anything. Anyone know if they're allowed or not?

If you follow this really long link:

http://www.aa.com /content/customerService/baggage/carryOnAllowance.jhtml?anchorEvent=false#Electroni c%20Devices,%20Medical%20Devices,%20Musical%20Inst ruments

(You'll then need to scroll down to close to the bottom of the page)

You'll find the answer is that GPS's can NOT be USED on the plane.

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[This message has been edited by businesstraveler (edited 04-01-2003).]

It probably depends on the airline, for example SAS specificailly said they were allowed during the flight.

Delta, for example, treats them the same as computers, not during take off and landing, but flight is OK

http://www.delta.com/travel/trav_ser...nics/index.jsp

You need to check with the airline to see what their rules are.

Actually, the AA website says "Portable Global Positioning Satellites (G.P.S.)" So, if you want to split hairs, they don't want you using a *satellite* on board. Nothing about the handheld transceivers LOL I have a co-worker who has an aviation grade GPS unit for his iPaq (he's a pilot) and he routinely uses it for his personal plane as well as charter and commercial flights and he's never reported any problems using it.

On United, anyway, GPS units are apparently allowed. From pilot and FlyerTalker Mark Rogers' comments on the thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum50/HTML/012327.html :

"GPS units are specifically allowed, while scanners are prohibited....

In the future, you might politely ask the FA to check with the captain. It might help to know that the reference is on page 8.100.7 of the FOM."

In the UK, most non-aviation GPS units are set to stop displaying positional data when the speed is over 100MPH. Tried mine on a flight from MAN to MUC and it didn't work.

TJ

As I understand it, this is a supposed to be a safety precaution to make sure you're using the right tool for the job. (Read: make you buy the more expensive aviation unit).

I don't think this is universally applicable though, I had heard it was mostly the older Garmin units that suffered from this limitation: I know I've heard of private pilots using the bog-standard Magellan units without problems.

Never tried it in on a flight as that tiny window makes acquiring enough sat signals for (accurate) fixes, next to impossible.

We use our beat up Garmin II+ on road trips in Europe and can vouch for it's ability to work at speeds =>160kph

My $0.02

I've managed to get a fix with most Garmin units. I ended up using the eMap, can confirm that it actually worked on board Concorde though the altitude reading was not working well...

I've heard a few people say they've had no problems getting an accurate reading on a plane. Have you actually tried? Or are you speculating? I don't know too much about the technical aspects of GPS units. It seems to me that it would be difficult to use them in the plane. But then again, a friend of mine says he can get a signal inside his apartment, even when he's not next to the window. Is that even possible?

I have a Rand McNally GPS attachment for my Palm VII. I've never had a problem acquiring and keeping a signal from a window seat.

Unlikely. Bear in mind that the power output of a GPS satellite for the public L1 signal is about 26W; the antenna gain is quite high, so imagine a 30W spotlight focussed on the earth from 21,000km away and you get some idea of how weak the signal is by the time it arrives.

You can hinder most handhold GPS receivers just by putting your hand over the antenna, in my experience. I would be extremely surprised if you could acquire enough satellites to get a position fix indoors.

I regularly use my handheld Garmin 76s Mapping GPS on airplanes, to the great interest of flight attendants and pilots. On aircraft with laptop power, I'll hook the GPS up to my laptop with a Mapdata CD and follow the detailed map on the screen, identifying geographical features out the window. I have no problem getting multiple satellite signals and a solid 3D lock by just putting the unit up to the aircraft window.

No one in more than 50 flights since I got the thing has asked me to put it away. Most want to see how it works. One FA asked me if it was OK to use and I wrote down the unit number and she took the slip of paper to the pilot to check. She returned with an OK and later the pilot came downstairs to visit.

Aside from tracking the flight, I use my GPS to explore foreign cities. When I leave the hotel for a walk, I'll mark the hotel as a waypoint, then head out to get lost. Using the GPS I can always navigate my way back to the hotel. With street level map information downloaded from a CD, I can even find restaurants. One night in Valencia I queried the unit for the closest seafood restaurant and it helped me navigate to a little hidden place off down a walking street with the best paella I have ever had.

I also set up a waypoint for each airport and city that I visit and can display my wanderings on a world map in my laptop using the routing feature.

GPS: great travel tool and toy!

Among other things, flight direction and type/quality of the GPS unit all play a role in how good a fix you can get. An accurate GPS fix requires a minimum of 4 (good) satellite signals. See: http://www.cmtinc.com/gpsbook/chap7.html
for a, non-tech summary of the concept.

No, I've never tried to use my handheld unit on a flight. I've used GPS for ~6 years, first as a marine nav. aide, then picked up the handheld unit that we use in the car on European "road trips" and anytime we go hiking/skiing. Knowing my unit, I'd surmise (speculate, if you will) that using it on a commercial flight would be a waste for me, but might be fun for a new user as long as it showed him/her something on the screen. I figure the inflight tracking screen is good enough for me (most of my flights are JFK->Europe).

As for your friend being able to use GPS inside, I too can get an initial fix near a window but once I move around inside, the unit will loose signal(s) and go into Dead Reconing Mode.

This has never been a problem for me.