Re: Clarification from Continental confirms GPS friendly policy

In sci.geo.satellite-nav JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A GPS used by a passenger on a plane is just a neat tool to either
providd data on flight progress, or help unddrstand the geography below
you. There are many people who would spend 5 hours of a flight with the
head glued to the window to watch the ground below to recognise
features, cities, rivers.

I often get a pain in my neck if I fly over the US during the day. I start
reading the inflight magazine as soon as I sit down, finish about the time
GPS usage is allowed and then I look out the window for the most of the
rest of the flight. I always take note of the mention, or lack thereof, of
GPS in the back of the magazine.

But there are areas, such as northern ontario where it is really hard to
get a mental fix of where you are, and the GPS greatly helps there.

I mark spots that I find visually interesting, and look at them with Google
Earth when I get home.

Do you NEED a GPS ? No. Nor do you need a book to pass the time. But if
a GPS can help you better understand/admire the scenery out the window,
then it is a very worthwile toy which gives you a much more valuable
experience of learning about our planet than just watching some stale
movie on a 15cm screen on a seatback in front of you.

I can't stand watching movies on airplanes, even good movies.

Before GPS, I would carry the appropriate AAA map, and watch for rivers and
major towns. I could only play that game if there was enough space.
Otherwise, I would use the little inflight magazine map, and a ruler and
watch to make judgments about where I might be at the time.

With my non-mapping GPS, I would carry the appropriate AAA map, with some
lat/long noted along the edges.

Then came MS S&T, with tracking. I would track until the laptop battery
faded.

On flights at night, I can still note city lights. Over water, I usually
turn on the GPS between naps, catching snippets of track log every hour or
two.

If I don't get a window seat, I get up and wander to a nearby door and get
a fix occasionally. (fix... snicker ;-)

I recently had a flight attendant tell me that I wasn't allowed to put my
GPS into the tiny window hole of the door, because ... I missed it. I
could use it in my seat, but not at the door.

The GPSMap60cs allows me to see an overview map without the paper, but I
also find that the antenna isn't as good for tiny window use as my eTrex,
which I would typically wedge up behind the window shade.

I have been asked to turn off my bright yellow eTrex by a couple of flight
attendants, which I accept without hesitation.

I have never had any passenger show any particular interest in my GPS,
although I have answered "hey what's that?" questions about the landmarks
below.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: External Antenna on Commercial Flights
    ... > I usually use an external antenna on my Garmin GPS V on airline flights. ... > have either stuck it between the window shade and the window or used a ... On one Southwest flight one of the flight attendants noticed ... I too stick an external antenna between the window and the shade. ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
  • Re: to gps or not to gps?
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