[ltp] T30 on-disk recovery

[Will McDonald]

I was a little broad in my memory of the article. It was from The
Register [1], and it pertained to Ultra-WideBand devices and British
Airlines. 

The devices '"knocked out" collision-avoidance systems and impaired instrument
landing systems, The Times reports today. UWB devices could also cause
interference with satellite-base air traffic control systems, the tests
suggest.'

However, 'A cautious - and limited - approval to use ultra-wideband
technology was given by US regulators in February. Intel, among other
companies, is interested in developing UWB technology to allow
high-speed links between devices without the need for cabling. 

UWB devices are unlikely to appear in consumer electronics much before
2004 and with standards still to be set there's room to satisfy air
regulators concerns. If UWB devices are found to be unsafe in the air
then surely it's possible to prohibit their use in flight without a
blanket ban on laptops, along the lines of existing policies airlines
have for mobile phones.'

-will

[1] http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/26910.html

> >Although I read something recently that because (some?) new type of
> >wireless had demonstratedly interfered with plane communications, many
> >airlines were thinking of blanket-banning laptops, since most flight
> >attendents wouldn't be able to tell the difference, even to make the
> >right announcement.
> 
> Interesting. The original rule was because cheap radios / tv are very
> sloppy on the bandwidth and can cause cross-interference. Modern
> wireless devices are far, far better at staying within range. The
> instruments in a plane that would be affected work in the uhf and vhf
> spectrum. The frequencies are just above the fm radio range.  Modern
> avionics should not be affected by these at all. 
> 
> During visual flight rules where these devices are allowed (you can
> still see where you're going if everything fails), we've used cellhones
> and handheld scanners and not affected the plane at all, even on the
> comparatively cheap instruments used in general aviation planes (small
> cessna's etc)
> 
> A lot of the rules implemented by the airlines are blanket rules not
> specifically mandated by the regulations. (Although, the seat belts
> during take off, landing, and taxi-ing are FAA regs, hence the keep
> belts on until at the gate)
> 
> I doubt this will go through though, on the typical flights that are
> full of business travellers, the laptop usage rate has got to be 10-20%
> of passengers.
> 
> Mike


-- 
---------Will McDonald-----------------will@upl.cs.wisc.edu----------
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