Real time, but like looking at a map with a telescope.

 

Some of you are killing me. I'm 61 and have been flying since 1979. (Que Boomer comments) I've seen a lot of aviation flow by. Yesterday's new thing is today's old junk. I would love to have Wi-Fi on my freighter and so would you. Anything that increases safety, gives more situational awareness and makes my job easier is a bonus. The reasons some of you mention for not needing it are all valid but who wouldn't want to have the magic if you can get it. When I started, I was stoked to have a monochrome green radar. Now I can't imagine not having color doppler. TCAS? Wasn't even invented. Love it now. GPS? The military didn't even have it. GPWS or better yet EGPWS? We had no idea what that was. iPads? Not even thought of in Steve Jobs dreams yet. To many other once exotic, now commonplace innovations to list.

The point is that the things we once thought new-fangled toys are now considered essential tools. So, the guy asked a question. Cut him some slack. You can fly without a lot of things. But the cool gizmos make it easier.

 

Realistically, 80 nm, and yet the fact remains: airborne weather radar is real time. Internet weather (xm, etc) is not.

 

Im with the ones who want it. I've been flying for 25 years and been thru the round dials, paper charts, etc. We've obviously gotten along fine without wifi, but it would be damn nice to have it now.

A lot of crap can change in the world on a 12 hour flight, weather and otherwise.

 

Forget about the good old say when one had to the need to demonstrate their death defying aviation skills of yore. How many on here are old enough to have flown with those who used the old LFR Navigation, referred to as Adcock radio range or four-course radio range. Those old crusty chaps never missed a chance to let us know how lucky we were to have VOR Navigation. PS is definitely a fuel saver. Routes across the Pacific are a lot easier with actual routes vs random routes. I wish some advanced aids were available when slugging it in the weather causing white caps in my coffee. Ability to navigate with the good old VOR when DOD is spoofing the GPS is another topic for later, perhaps.

 

UPS thought about it and flight tested it on a few 767s but the cost was too much I heard. Best bet will probably be if the ADS-B IN mandate is passed in Congress.

 

We. Are. All. Well. Aware. Of. That.

 

From the comments most guys would still use celestial navigation if they could. Progress is nice but I know at Brown they’re too cheap to invest in it. Apparently some folks up high in Louisville were pushing for it too before Atlanta shot it down. I had wifi at a regional along with the apps that Delta used. It was a game changer to say the least.

Seems like there’s a lot to be desired from the tech side of things in the cargo world and if the comments are any indication of how the masses feel we’ll still be logging into our lido app every 12hrs 20yrs from now and looking at outdated information on WSI inflight.

 

You look at the weather?!? You’re launching regardless. WiFi on airplanes HAHA! First we need working WiFi in the ASC. Stop knocking celestial navigation. 50% of the time it works all the time.

But remember, we are a technology company and will be the first to adopt pilotless aircraft.

 

Dude, we just got the last airplane withour GPS equipped with GPS this year. Wifi would be great to get updates to charts, NOTAMs, etc. It's not going to happen. We have wifi switches being installed in the planes, but it'll be a while before we get service. When that service starts we'll find a way to ensure we foul it up.

I'd like to get the stuff we have to work as advertised. It would be nice to trust that a C check actually gets done correctly. My point is we have more basic, more critical stuff that needs attention.