I've been reading about this issue with mild palpitations, because coverage has not explained exactly that 5G is but it's all been painted as complex and sorta scary. This primer is so clear and I appreciate you put it all here without freaking us out, though we all are... at least secretly anyway.
Thanks for this detailed yet easily understood explanation, Jim. I had not yet taken the time to investigate, but I was a bit surprised to heard on the car radio that Logan International in Boston is *not* subject to the delayed deployment protocol. For anyone interested, the site named www.cellmapper.net is a great way to determine which towers are in the vicinity of any given location (I used it recently to test for a conversion to broadband via 5G and have not been disappointed at all...).
On the other hand, it is fascinating to consider that the radio altimeter was invented in 1924 and has been sold commercially since 1937. For what it's worth, a friend who flies a 50 year old Cessna is making himself a LIDAR device to give him an indication of the distance to the runway when he gets below 50 feet. He is only qualified VFR and has found that touching down smoothly is the one thing that he has had trouble perfecting over the years.
Boston's difference may involve being almost entirely surrounded by water. Approaches from the North, East and South all have their final half mile or more over water. Cell phone antennas tend to follow highways, because that is where the drive time cars are. O'Hare, however, is almost entirely surrounded by highways.
I thought of that, too, but checked the map and there is a cluster of towers just south of the main runways, well within the two miles that seems to be the reference point for unacceptable risk. In addition, TF Green International is north of Warwick RI and about 2 miles inland and has a T-Mobile 5G cell tower at the north end of its main runway whose coverage seems to include the entire airport tarmac, but it is also not on the list.
Interestingly, I discovered from Cellmapper.net that there seem to be plenty of 5G cells for T-Mobile near Logan but *zero* for Verizon; however, the latter shows high quality coverage with 5G for all of Boston, Logan included. I am beginning to wonder whether Verizon has been selling 4G LTE connectivity as equivalent to 5G... and for what it's worth, who would notice or care at the consumer level as long as bandwidth was adequate and service was reliable.
Thanks! Yes, I would be grateful to have one of these in the Cirrus. Though presumably in VFR conditions you'd be relying on the "sight picture" — and, in fact, any approach I would make / have made means breaking into the clear by at least 500 ft AGL.
Great clear article, thank you! This is an enlightening substack forum, so thanks on behalf of your many readers and fans. Hoping for safe travels for everyone, and may your next airline experience be fun and free of drama!
I've been reading about this issue with mild palpitations, because coverage has not explained exactly that 5G is but it's all been painted as complex and sorta scary. This primer is so clear and I appreciate you put it all here without freaking us out, though we all are... at least secretly anyway.
Thanks! I think it will get sorted out now.
Thanks for this detailed yet easily understood explanation, Jim. I had not yet taken the time to investigate, but I was a bit surprised to heard on the car radio that Logan International in Boston is *not* subject to the delayed deployment protocol. For anyone interested, the site named www.cellmapper.net is a great way to determine which towers are in the vicinity of any given location (I used it recently to test for a conversion to broadband via 5G and have not been disappointed at all...).
On the other hand, it is fascinating to consider that the radio altimeter was invented in 1924 and has been sold commercially since 1937. For what it's worth, a friend who flies a 50 year old Cessna is making himself a LIDAR device to give him an indication of the distance to the runway when he gets below 50 feet. He is only qualified VFR and has found that touching down smoothly is the one thing that he has had trouble perfecting over the years.
Boston's difference may involve being almost entirely surrounded by water. Approaches from the North, East and South all have their final half mile or more over water. Cell phone antennas tend to follow highways, because that is where the drive time cars are. O'Hare, however, is almost entirely surrounded by highways.
I thought of that, too, but checked the map and there is a cluster of towers just south of the main runways, well within the two miles that seems to be the reference point for unacceptable risk. In addition, TF Green International is north of Warwick RI and about 2 miles inland and has a T-Mobile 5G cell tower at the north end of its main runway whose coverage seems to include the entire airport tarmac, but it is also not on the list.
Interestingly, I discovered from Cellmapper.net that there seem to be plenty of 5G cells for T-Mobile near Logan but *zero* for Verizon; however, the latter shows high quality coverage with 5G for all of Boston, Logan included. I am beginning to wonder whether Verizon has been selling 4G LTE connectivity as equivalent to 5G... and for what it's worth, who would notice or care at the consumer level as long as bandwidth was adequate and service was reliable.
Thanks! Yes, I would be grateful to have one of these in the Cirrus. Though presumably in VFR conditions you'd be relying on the "sight picture" — and, in fact, any approach I would make / have made means breaking into the clear by at least 500 ft AGL.
Great clear article, thank you! This is an enlightening substack forum, so thanks on behalf of your many readers and fans. Hoping for safe travels for everyone, and may your next airline experience be fun and free of drama!
Thank you!