Texting and Flying??

[Ray-Ban]

No. I had an instructor do this on a my night cross country flight, last time I ever flew with him.

I would of rolled that dirty bird inverted and said " you have control Biiaatch".

Then demand my money back.

[ditar]

I rarely have any need to text while flying but I find that, on crappy weather days, the 3G can be very useful for pulling up the METARs and TAFs for a dozen different airports while en-route.

[Rowdy]

Pretty handy pulling up the webcam on the iphone before turning up an inlet.. or getting instant weather updates trodging around MVFR. Dispatch sure likes the ability too. No need to relay via VHF anymore.. theres cell towers everywhere

I'm sure over the next couple years.. there will be a ruling or some form of txt etiquette come in to play...

[albertdesalvo]

What is this "twitter" and "tweet" stuff you are talking about?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmBmD3s-R9s

[KK7]

OMG I'm sending this from my phone while flying right now LOL

[Tim]

almost every capt at our base texts or emails in flight...including the boss

[niss]

I've texted to let someone know I would be passing over head.

I don't get it, I am supposed to be able to pull out a map, draw a line, measure said line, do some math, etc while orbiting a position between 500-1000AGL with out smashing into the ground, but to quickly pull out the iphone or BB and type out "look up" in level flight with one hand is frowned upon?

[Hawkerflyer]

below 10'000 it does not happen, if duties are done and the aircraft is above 10'000.... Have at'er.

[Tim]

below 10'000 it does not happen, if duties are done and the aircraft is above 10'000.... Have at'er.

so when i level off at 7000' and stay there for 45 min because the patient in the back needs a sea level cabin alt i can't text?

[albertdesalvo]

So the folks in the back are in deep sheet if they turn on their electronic devices, but the guys in the pointy end routinely use cellphones in flight?

[Lurch]

So the folks in the back are in deep sheet if they turn on their electronic devices, but the guys in the pointy end routinely use cellphones in flight?

The guys in the back of my plane spend most of the flight reading and replying to emails on their BBs

I send more emails then text messages, they don't time out as quickly and seem to go through easier. Of course most of these are work related and only done when in cruise.

Lurch

[albertdesalvo]

The guys in the back of my plane spend most of the flight reading and replying to emails on their BBs

And that doesn't cause the aircraft to fall out of the sky? OMG, WTF, LOL.

[matt777]

Actually Tim, you might be closer to the truth than I would normally admit, but..

What IS with the damn kids and their texting and tweeting? You can't have a conversation with someone under 30 without seeing them sneaking covert glances at the screen of their mobile phone, which they hold cupped below your sight-line as if they think you're too dumb to see them. It's rude. And doing it in the cockpit is the airborne equivalent of office workers blabbing on an internet gossip site like this one or sending silly faxes to other offices when the boss' back is turned. Or passing notes in class. It's puerile. No-one needs to be that closely connected with their friends. It speaks to a lack of interest in the task at hand.

One exception I have heard so far is the guy who fires a text off to his flight follower. Fair enough. But you and I both know the main people objecting to some heavy-handed Captain tramping on their good-time texting are mostly interested in sending "OMFG"s and "I was all, and then she was like,"...etc. to their friends. I think most of these people know they are being impolite and they don't care, because the technology is so new it hasn't developed any etiquette yet. Maybe that's why I object to it. It's like whispering in public.

Damn kids and their tweeting and texting. I think it kills brain cells.

edited for length.

You're probably right, but it's the way it is...times change

[westcoasting]

Actually Tim, you might be closer to the truth than I would normally admit, but..

What IS with the damn kids and their texting and tweeting? You can't have a conversation with someone under 30 without seeing them sneaking covert glances at the screen of their mobile phone, which they hold cupped below your sight-line as if they think you're too dumb to see them. It's rude. And doing it in the cockpit is the airborne equivalent of office workers blabbing on an internet gossip site like this one or sending silly faxes to other offices when the boss' back is turned. Or passing notes in class. It's puerile. No-one needs to be that closely connected with their friends. It speaks to a lack of interest in the task at hand.

One exception I have heard so far is the guy who fires a text off to his flight follower. Fair enough. But you and I both know the main people objecting to some heavy-handed Captain tramping on their good-time texting are mostly interested in sending "OMFG"s and "I was all, and then she was like,"...etc. to their friends. I think most of these people know they are being impolite and they don't care, because the technology is so new it hasn't developed any etiquette yet. Maybe that's why I object to it. It's like whispering in public.

Damn kids and their tweeting and texting. I think it kills brain cells.

edited for length.

easy there old timer. Im sure your elders though less of you for using that fancy transistor radio

[Xander]

I've had one of my FO's do it in taxi at night when entering the ramp...

I told him never to do that again. That I needed his eyes outside.

A couple weeks later I was flying co-captain and she sent a text message in the descent at about 5000 feet. I told her I didn't likt that at all.

After those two events I spoke to the chief pilot about it.

Personnally I don't think we should do it, but I must admit that while in cruise, it's different. I have a couble of games and movies on my itouch.

[Hawkerflyer]

below 10'000 it does not happen, if duties are done and the aircraft is above 10'000.... Have at'er.

so when i level off at 7000' and stay there for 45 min because the patient in the back needs a sea level cabin alt i can't text?

Tim, this is standard ops for us, we do not fly medical flights.

[square]

:\ I was caught texting and flying when I was doing work for this major contract we had -- the customer was pissed! If he wasn't a good friend I'd have been in deep sh--. No more of that..

[Tim]

below 10'000 it does not happen, if duties are done and the aircraft is above 10'000.... Have at'er.

so when i level off at 7000' and stay there for 45 min because the patient in the back needs a sea level cabin alt i can't text?

Tim, use your brain you idiot. Sounds like the only thing you are qualified to captain is a garden tractor.

is that a no?

maybe your standards are too high for 'garden tractor' captains...what is a garden tractor, by the way? is it for cutting down the bushes in a garden?

[Inverted2]

I forgot to put my i phone in airplane mode and got a text at FL350 last week! Kinda funny but the battery was almost dead by then. Must have been a brief signal because it doesn't really work above a couple thousand feet.

[erics2b]

Text messaging and flying is soo last week. Real men picture message.



What's cool is how the cellular providers cut your signal when you have too much altitude (using too many towers). That was taken (and sent) at about 1000' AGL.

[warbirdpilot7]

What can possibly be so important that you have to text while flying? Makes me wonder how the world "revolved" before the days of all this text/tweet/facebook rubbish.

Fly the airplane(even if you have the A/P on) look out and enjoy. I cant believe this is even considered.

[KAG]

there is no real difference between texting and say reading a paper. I'll argue the texting is probibly safer as it affords you a proper view of the instruments.

That said, like reading there is a time and place. Taxiing or low level is not one of them.

[Tim]

What can possibly be so important that you have to text while flying? Makes me wonder how the world "revolved" before the days of all this text/tweet/facebook rubbish.

Fly the airplane(even if you have the A/P on) look out and enjoy. I cant believe this is even considered.

ah the beloved "i don't do it, so i think less of you if you do it" attitude. i guess your stare out the window the whole time even if you're flying on a dark night over a layer?

what does it matter what's so important to make someone text? what's the difference between calling someone up on company frequency for a chat? how is it any less safe than reading the AFM? you must have a reason it's so bad other than YOU don't think there is anything important worth texting. or do you just mean to say that your personal opinions are the standard to which we should all be held?

i guess by your judgement the 90% of the pilots at my base who have texted while flying are bad pilots. it's almost unfathomable that we haven't had a crash.

speaking of crashes, could you want to tell me about some of the accidents or incidents you've heard about where cellphone use in cruise was in any way a contributing factor? you don't have to tell me about all them, just one or two will do.

[North Shore]

there is no real difference between texting and say reading a paper. I'll argue the texting is probibly safer as it affords you a proper view of the instruments.

That said, like reading there is a time and place. Taxiing or low level is not one of them.

Physically, there's no diff between the two types of reading; psychologically, I'd argue that there is. Ever sat in your house, listened to the phone ring, and tried to not answer it? Bloody difficult, as we are conditioned to answer the phone. Because text comes in on a phone device, I'd argue that it is just as difficult to not answer/read an incoming text, and thus distracting from the task at hand. The second part of your post makes sense.

That being said, someone posted earlier that there was an item on the checklist "phones off" - sounds like a good idea to me..

[FlaplessDork]

One operator I flew with used BB as flight following. It was routine to send text messages in flight.