Anything I should know about flying cross country with a laptop? This Friday will be the first time I’ve flown with it, and I seek the wisdom of those who have gone before me.
Does it go through the X-Ray machine? Can you use it on the plane? If I turn it on at 35,000 feet, will the plane do a barrel roll? Do airports have wi-fi “hot zones” nowadays? What if I fly over a “hot zone” on the ground - will I pick it up?
Any dos or don’ts?
Thanks!
Laptop goes thru x-ray in a grey plastic tray, by itself. Oddly, a DVD player, even though they can be almost as big as a laptop, can stay in its case thru the Xray.
Sometimes they will single out your laptop to swipe it and snif the swipe with the electronic explosives detector. Very rarely, they’ll ask you to turn on the laptop.
You can use laptop after seatbelt sign goes off after take-off, then they’ll announce when it is time to turn it off when beginning approach for landing.
You are supposed to turn off any wireless (typically there is a keyboard toggle to turn it off) while in flight, but I expect probably most forget to do this.
If your laptop has a DVD player, many airports have a DVD rental place.
www.inmotionpictures.com Movies are $5.00 for about 1 week. You can buy a mailer to return them if there isn’t a convenient spot at your destination. Playing DVD’s does eat your battery, so a second battery might be needed. I make sure my company buys me a fresh new lithium battery for my laptop when it will no longer play an entire movie on one charge. Don’t forget headphones.
If you have an “auto/air” power supply, some airlines have at seat power at some seats. US Air has it in coach on a lot of Airbus planes. American has it on certain rows in coach, you have to call reservations to get that row. Northwest and Continental only have power in First Class, I believe.
Most, not all, airports have WiFi, almost always for a fee of about 7-10 dollars for 24 hours. Portland is a notable exception, having WiFi for free in the entire airport.
It goes through the X-Ray machine. You’ll probably have to take it out of the bag it’s in and lay it down flat, so don’t pack it too deep. You can use it on the plane once they get to cruising altitude. Some airports have Wi-Fi. Most charge for it, though. There’s no way you’ll pick up a network from the ground; you’re too far away.
If you have a layover and want to charge it up a bit more, look for outlets on the big columns by your next gate. There are usually a few.
Are you a guy? If so, keep the damn thing off your lap! New studies show that lap tops in the traditional position heat up the sperm in your scrotum by a few degrees, especially for longer then a half hour, to the point where they start to die off. This can have serious consequences in time.
(From the Discover)
The main thing you need to know: Your battery won’t last as long as you think it will. 
Seriously. I bought a second battery specifically so I could use my laptop on long flights. I get two, maybe two and a half hours out of it, depending on what I’m doing. Just enough to watch a DVD and one of the special docu shorts, and then beeeeeeeeeep.
If you don’t have a second battery, get one, charge it, and stick it in the laptop case.
Thanks for all the info. I doubt I’ll use it in flight, mostly I’m curious if I could. I think it’d be cool to post to the Dope cruising over Chicago, but oh well - maybe in a few years. I was mostly wondering about security, and whether the X-Ray machine would screw it up any.
ZebraShaSha, yes I’m a guy. Father of 2, and not looking to increase that total any. Are there any problems I should be aware of other than reduced sperm count? You’re making me nervous here.
While in line at security, take your laptop out. It always needs to be in a bin by itself, (sometimes you can put your jacket over it) and taking it out early doesn’t hold up the line.
Ditto to all the other comments, except that if you have built-in wireless, be sure to turn it off before you power up your laptop on the plane.
I find it hard to type on planes, so be ready to proofread whatever you write well. I have a trackball mouse that fits on the tray table next to the laptop since I hate touch pads with a passion. In the cramped confines of an airline seat, I always touch the pad when typing, and send the cursor all over the place. I keep mine turned off.
It used to be more convenient to use a laptop if you have an empty seat next to you, since your food could go there. The airlines have taken care of that problem for us. 
Nah - don’t worry about the wireless. You can get wireless on the plane itself, if you’re flying Lufthansa, although I imagine it would cost a bomb. Someone’s already done the “posting from air”, though. I’ll try a search.
Bring headphones.
Yes
Yes
Unfortunately no.
Some do. Most that do charge
Not a chance. You are around 7 miles from the nearest wifi transmitter.
It would probably be a bad idea to look at porn, open up a ‘how to blow up a plane’ manual or read through a cached al-qaeda website.
As you may have deduced, even if you don’t plan on turning the laptop on during the flight, mke sure you have enough battery charge to be able to prove that you can power it up.
If you haven’t flown in general lately, plan on removing your shoes. I take my laptop out of the case and put my shoes in its place. Also, plan on putting your cell phone, money, watch, etc… in your laptop case (or other carry-on item)… it’ll save you time in security.
There are indeed a few airports with free wireless, including ours here in Lexington KY. But so far this is still the exception. Give it a year.
Having gone through entirely too many security checkpoints in the past year, I offer up this bit of advice: Label your laptop on the outside. More than once, I’ve seen confused people at the other end of the Xray looking at two or three flat black slabs in those gray trays, unsure which one is theirs.
(It timed out so I checked for a double post and found none - if so, I apologize in advance.)
I’m the farthest from a doctor one could be, so my words are not meant to be taken without a truckload of salt, but I was just relaying some information on an article in the most recent Discover. Since you can’t read the article online without subscribing, I can’t provide a link.
However, the relevant info is that in a recent study with around 30 male volunteers, scrotal temprature raised 2 degrees with the first 20 minutes of use. This raise in temprature greatly decreases sperm production. With an hour or more of use on the lap, tempratures can raise well over 6 degrees, with 2 being the temprature in which production begins to shrink rapidly. Really, you’ll be fine, but researchers say that if you use the laptop on your lap for prolonged periods of time permanent damage is sure to ensue. Since this all new studies, they really have no idea, with the laptop generation not really being old enough to tell either. So, I offer their advice of just avoiding it whenever possible, like when you could probably create some sort of buffer zone out of fabric or a pull-down table that would greatly reduce the effects of the temprature. YMMV and sorry for scaring you earlier - twas not my intentions!
Do watch your laptop. I was tagged for additional screening Sunday because of a late ticket change. I was put in the “isolation chute” and watched as someone else picked up a carry oncase identifal to mine but fortunately I could see he was picking up a different laptop.
I got a aircraft power adapter but I’ve never had opportunity to use it. There were supposed to be connectors on the international delta flight I took but I couldnt find them and I haven’t seen one on any domestic flights. Too cramped to use one in coach for me anyway so I generally just listen to music on my PDA with a set of noise cancelling headphones I bought.
Flap harder.
To maximize your battery life, avoid using the CD/DVD player. Those things suck up a huge amount of power.
They’re usually down below the seat level, beneath the armrest so one power port can be accessed by the seat on either side. They’re not under every seat, or even in every row. On American (not American Eagle), there’s always one in the exit row seats, and there’s a power logo (looks kind of lightning bolt-ish) on the overhead bins to indicate which rows have power ports. You can also look up your airline on www.SeatGuru.com to locate the power ports on the plane you’ll be taking.
OK - so no porn in flight. Check. How about a cached Time Cube page. If I start convincing everyone on board that they’ve been educated singularity stupid, will I get to meet the air marshalls?
Great site - thanks for the link. The only requirement I have when flying is a seat on the aisle - nice to see the good folks at the travel agency hooked me up.
Do not put it in your checked baggage, even if you don’t plan on using it in flight. It will be detected as the bag is X-Rayed, and your bag will be searched, the TSA is totally paranoid about laptops. The belt system and sorters tend to be a bit rough on them as well.