Can You Text and Fly?

[aviatoreb]

How high?  Seems like I cannot reliably send texts higher than 5-8k depending on where. 

But - I seem to receive sporadically even higher - sometimes much higher.

Once about 3 years ago in the summer I was flying to Boulder CO in my Mooney, and at 16,000ft over Iowa - I got about 20 texts all at once when the cell towers found me - it was everyone I knew it seems through aviation or just from town who knows the name of my model airplane.  A different Mooney had visited my home airport, PTD filled up with fuel (I met the guy - he was brand new to the airplane but very nice guy), and then went to Lake Placid, NY airport (nearby) and unfortunately had a fatal crash.  Well I had a lot of friends worrying it was me and nervously checking in.  I landed in Iowa to find out what happened (since then I was also worried it was another guy I know well also based out of PTD with a Mooney - but as it turns out - still horrible it was a nice fellow I had just spoken with the day before about his new to him airplane), and sent out a bunch of "I'm ok" texts.

Edited April 22, 2017 by aviatoreb

[Skates97]

1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

FWIW

SMS (text) messages go over the voice channel not the data channel. Having LTE has nothing to do with texting.

True, they also use very little bandwidth. Out here in CA there have been a couple times after decent earthquakes and also a few years back when we had some bad fires that you couldn't make a cell phone call. The networks were all overloaded. However if you could send and receive texts. Helpful to let people know that you're okay. 

[Ned Gravel]

23 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

Yep do it all the time.

Above 7000'?

I do not get a mobile signal above that altitude.

[gsxrpilot]

30 minutes ago, Ned Gravel said:

Above 7000'?

I do not get a mobile signal above that altitude.

Whenever I get a strong enough signal. It varies with altitude, terrain, population density, etc.

When I used to live in Australia, I did a lot of travel on Qantas between Sydney and Melbourne. There was a commonly used Hold that was right over Thredbo Mountain. It's a popular ski resort in New South Wales and evidently had a tower on the summit. Whenever we got a hold over Thredbo, I could often get an LTE signal and even use my laptop to send/receive email. I have no idea what our AGL was, but it was dependable spot from which to get a good connection.

[chrisk]

44 minutes ago, Ned Gravel said:

Above 7000'?

I do not get a mobile signal above that altitude.

I've gotten spotty text messages above 9000 AGL.  The terrain was flat ground for 100 miles. 

 

[Hank]

18 hours ago, carusoam said:

I have had success using text below 3,000’ to let my ride know I was coming... at 500fpm that isn't much time for a warning. You will be in the traffic pattern in minutes....

A short preset message, pushing the send button is all it took.  Not quite writing a manuscript... my copilot was pretty good at ground conversations.

The Narco radios in my M20C were good at picking up electrical noise made by a cell phone that was picking up a connection signal.

Piloto has reported Good cell reception much higher.

As for the article, I didn't get a feel for anything actually being factual.  At best, the man is an actor.  He pretends to an audience. The audience wants to be entertained...  when making things up, he needs some better skill... Da40, really?

Best regards,

-a-

Low altitude often works for me. Above several thousand feet, I generally have no service. This has held true across the Midwest, over the Appalachians and through the Southeast. Sometimes if I'm near a medium size town, I can get a text out. Macon or Augusta, GA; Columbia or Greenville, SC; Knoxville, TN; these sometimes work 8500-10,000 msl; the Atlanta suburbs usually don't, I can tell etc close enough to town when always required to "remain clear of the Bravo." Eastern Kentucky has nowhere large enough to have much signal density . . . 

Low on approach, I can usually get one out even in the hinterlands, but always too close to the destination to alert anyone not already nearly there. I usually give them a call just before departure, advising of my expected arrival, because I know I can reach them then.

[MB65E]

10/11k over Blythe always works for me. 

If you are close to a tower and there is not more than a few towers the text should go out. If the signal is pinged to more than a few towers at altitude then it gets blocked and doesn't go thru. 

Places you think you should have signal don't and strange places do. I think the FCC cares because it boggs the signal and slows service. 

In the Early texting days I was warned by a few people that mentioned the FCC was tracking their data. One guy was even sent a letter. 

Highly doubt anyone cares now days. 

Wonder what they think about WIFI now days? 

The cell companies probably already have better coverage than ADSB does!!

-Matt

[peevee]

Already? They've been building their networks for over 30 years.

[zaitcev]

Cirrus G5 and later have an option of texting, and I think what's more, the cellphone is actually built into the airplane, so it's not just some Bluetooth thingie. The option costs $10,000. No, it's not a joke. But hey, for that amount of money you can use FMS console for texting.

[Jerry 5TJ]

Cirrus offers the GSR56 for phone and text and weather data. It isn't a cell phone, it is an Iridium satellite transceiver.  Worldwide connectivity.  

You can put one in your GTN750 equipped Mooney. List price of the GSR 56 is $9,995 which is the Cirrus installed price.  

 

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by Jerry 5TJ

[1964-M20E]

I've tried in the past with limited success.  Generally I put my put my phone on airplane mode.  I have never been able to get signals or reliable phone or text above 3 or 4k under 2k a little better but generally at them time I'm setting up for landing or an approach and do not have time to text.

 

 

 

[gsxrpilot]

8 minutes ago, 1964-M20E said:

I've tried in the past with limited success.  Generally I put my put my phone on airplane mode.  I have never been able to get signals or reliable phone or text above 3 or 4k under 2k a little better but generally at them time I'm setting up for landing or an approach and do not have time to text.

If I'm trying to communicate my arrival time or some other message to someone I'm meeting, I'll send the txt just before top of descent. It won't connect and usually won't send especially if I'm in the flight levels. But as I get close to the airport and on approach, it will connect and send automatically. Easy to do and has no effect on cockpit instrumentation.

[EricJ]

This vid is from a couple of months ago, and was actually kind of a joke.  My buddy taking the vid and I both race cars, and I instruct at a teen driving school where we teach handling for accident avoidance and general survival skills.   So, for us, texting while driving is a big no-no and teaching that philosophy is part of the personal mantra.  The trip was a return from Nevada to AZ skirting the Grand Canyon airspace.   It was a VFR flight and I'd forgotten to activate the flight plan and was attempting to do so, but we had no coverage so I wound up calling Flight Service on the radio.

I usually leave my phone on while flying, and often get texts while enroute somewhere.  I seldom try to text out, but when it is useful and I can get a connection it's a very handy thing to be able to do.  

 

[1964-M20E]

1 hour ago, gsxrpilot said:

If I'm trying to communicate my arrival time or some other message to someone I'm meeting, I'll send the txt just before top of descent. It won't connect and usually won't send especially if I'm in the flight levels. But as I get close to the airport and on approach, it will connect and send automatically. Easy to do and has no effect on cockpit instrumentation.

The only reason I put it on airplane mode is to save battery power.

[Piloto]

Cell phone signal reception and transmission depends a lot on where the cell phone is located. If you are holding it with you hands you are attenuating the signal. However if the phone is free standing by itself there is a good chance of signal connection. I have mine Velcro attached to the sun visor. I get WX, texting and voice at 10,000ft most of the time.

José

Edited April 28, 2017 by Piloto

[Stephen]

On 4/22/2017 at 7:21 AM, N201MKTurbo said:

You should have asked the folks in the park at the 420 celebrations.

I was actually in San Fran during that thing doing a Data Robot training class....wondered what all the gratuitous pot smoking and demonstrations were about...until I got the 420 story.   ..... oy vey