Keef :
Despite all the bluster, I've not seen any law that says "thou shalt not use thy cellphone in a GA aircraft in the UK". If there is one, it would be useful to see the reference. Since cellphones don't need a licence for "normal" use, it would probably need a lawyer to interpret the regulations.
Indeed : and that (show me the reference) was my original point. I've heard many times that it's illegal, but never seen it written anywhere.
I don't advocate using a mobile phone in flight, for a variety of reasons, including distraction, the continuous burbling in the headset - and the fact that not being continuously contactable is one of the plus factors of flying for me ! I have used mobiles elsewhere in the world with varying success, and I have used one once in the UK during an emergency whilst being sans radio (and undercarriage and flaps ...
)
I used to be a very regular prooner, but I gave up for a long while largely because I got fed up with the didacts and pedants who are simply not willing to embrace the possibility that laws, rules and systems which have been around for decades can sometimes be improved or are rendered irrelevant by technological change. Witness the thread recently on which someone was praising the capabilities of a new type of battery, which immediately degenerated into an anti-GPS tantrum from the usual buffoons. These guys, coupled with those who, rather than give genuinely experienced-based advice, insist on pretending that flying at PPL level is an "art", with the complexity of brain surgery, only to be practised my those of superior moral fibre and intellect, rather than a slightly risky wholly enjoyable activity open to just about anyone who can afford it, finally drove me lose interest in coming here.
However, I've changed : whereas the old me would get annoyed, the new me is quite happy to remember that this is nothing more than an entertainment which occasionally proves useful, and to prick the odd self-righteous over-inflated ego for a bit of fun (and to have the favour returned if it's warranted!).
