Planes, Trains and GPS's

[GoodDog]

We are going to fly to Colorado next summer and I was going to take the new Gramin NuVi on the plane. This got me thinking. Will the unit show the roads 35,000 ft below? Will the Points of Interest still show Taco Bell "three miles ahead, turn right"? Will the plane go faster than the GPS can constantly recalculate the position? These aren't military gps missle guidance systems specs after all. Anyone ever take their Garmin 76Cx or anything on a plane and tried it? Will the storm troopers confiscate it at the gate?

Simple minds want to know.

[yogi57]

I had a gps on a plane and it kept up if I kept it close to the window area.

[cheechgang]

a. It gets through security with no problem.

b. Unfortunately each airline has their own conflicting rules as to whether you can turn it on in the air- which may very well be in conflict with what the crew says (but what they say is what counts)

[BlackBrownDog]

Mine stayed accurate on my recent trip (Detroit-Midway-Las Vegas, Las Vegas-Nashville-Detroit). I sat in a window seat with it either on my leg or hanging from the tab that held the table upright. I hid it when we took off, but no one said anything above 10k feet. It was really cool to know what you were looking at when crossing major rivers, cities, mountains or canyons.

[keithandcompany]

I did it on a plane trip to Charlotte, NC awhile back and on the Amtrack to Chicago. The train got up to 90 mph once in central Indiana. We did take it on the Washington DC Metro and the top speed was 80, but not for long before our next stop.

[Stumpy75]

Click HERE for a listing of what airline allows what.

It IS fun to see what's below, and my 76c had no problem keeping up. Of course, you can't zoom down to 80' and expect it to work, as you are just going too fast for it to keep up(it will try though). At the 3 mile range, it worked fine.

It only worked near a window. Get even 2' away, and you have no signal...

[GoodDog]

It only worked near a window. Get even 2' away, and you have no signal...

Yogi mentioned that also. This makes no sense. In a car or house, 35k below you can get a signal, but in a plane, 35k closer to the satellite you can't get a signal two feet into the interior of the plane. This is why I couldn't pass Physics in high school.

[EASYRN1]

We took our along a few times on vacation. It worked good against the window, I think it has to do with the insulation and metal skin, hard to get a signal through it. We quit watching after we hit 600 mph at 26,000 ft and climbing. Some things are better left unknown.

[GizmoGuy411]

I've used mine on several trips WITH the approval of the flight crew on both Delta and Northwest flights. However they do NOT always say yes.

If GPS units are listed on your airelines "allowed" devices list, then take a copy of the document with you to show the flight crew. If they do not know or do not remember the policy they are more likely to just say no. Something on paper may help.

One time the pilot even sent back a copy of his flight plan for me to follow! And that was AFTER 9/11 too. I was pretty suprised, and thanked him when I deboarded.

When you zoom in too close, the GPS unit can not update fast enough to give you a smooth display of your location. However you can get a smooth display if you zoom out far enough.

My biggest problem was a tired arm, while trying to keep it near the window.

Since the cabin is pressurized, you will not be able to get an altitude reading, however you can often tell if you are climbing or descending by watching the speed change.

EDIT... correction from Stumpy. You may be able to get an altitude reading if you calibrate it on the ground first.

[Stumpy75]

Actually, I did get an altitude reading. I don't think the GPSr is an altimeter(working on barometric pressure), but it gets it's altitude/elevation by triangulation...

Anyway, they do work close to the window, and it is nice to see where you are. Last time going to Phoenix from Detroit, we ended up having to go to almost New Orleans to avoid a huge line of storms. We then cut west and flew just North of the Mexican border. 30 minutes late into Phoenix, but I watched the pilot stoke the engines as we headed west at 650 mph cruising speed trying to make up time!

[lathropgw]

This will give me something to do on a flight to Florida in two weeks. I figure if the crew says anything I will just blame Barnacle Bear! I am sure that will smooth things over!!!

[lathropgw]

I just returned from Florida. I took my GPS with me on the flight from Detroit to Orlando. I turned it on and no one questioned me. It was pretty cool. The GPS kept up really well and the map was clear. It said we were going 508 mph. I did get an altitude reading and it was high, but I do not remember what it was.

Now if I could only use the darn thing to find a cache!