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Panasonic holds an almost monopoly on aircraft inflight entertainment, especially on widebody planes. They run redboot Linux and have a pretty strict firewall

by o-__-o 7y ago

Panasonic holds an almost monopoly on aircraft inflight entertainment, especially on widebody planes. They run redboot Linux and have a pretty strict firewall between the plane and computer. All of what the author did was expected by the Panasonic devs hence the disclaimer. Ads-b carries a lot of this data (at a lower interval) and is available to anyone with an antenna. Sites like FlightAware will republish it as graphs or maps. There also exist apps that take ads-b data and renders flight data in a google earth type view. A part of me is really excited that we live in this time, but I’m living in constant fear that open data will disappear one day, so enjoy while you can!

lima 7y ago
> Panasonic holds an almost monopoly on aircraft inflight entertainment, especially on widebody planes. They run redboot Linux and have a pretty strict firewall between the plane and computer. All of what the author did was expected by the Panasonic devs hence the disclaimer. Probably got tired of people reporting it as a vulnerability and added the disclaimer.
- o-__-o 7y ago
  Fun fact: a gentleman on a united flight found this data and tweeted saying he hacked the plane. An investigation kicked off and this disclaimer was added.
DaiPlusPlus 7y ago
Unrelated-but-related: why is it that the in-flight-status screen on the IFE or WiFi flight status page sometimes stops and simply shows the plane fixed and unmoving? Background: I’m a terrible flyer (I’m okay with turbulence, but unexpected manoeuvres really spook me), so on a recent SEA-ORD night flight I woke-up as we were approaching a O’Hare - doing a 180-degree turn over Lake Michigan so it was pitch black outside the window, but the IFE map showed we were over South Dakota where the flight should be straight and level, no turns for hours. So for more than just a brief moment I was convinced the plane was starting to spiral out of control like Lauda Air 004 - or it was a pilot suicide like Germanwings 9525. It wasn’t until a minute after Chicago came back into view that the IFE map refreshed with our current location. My friend I was travelling with said the map froze an hour earlier. Paranoid me thinks that if something were to go wrong with the plane that the pilots or flight attendants would shut down the IFE map or have it show false information to stop passengers from panicking. (Why yes, when I was younger I did believe the urban-myth about the brace-position only being there to preserve your jawline for later body identification through dental records)
- o-__-o 7y ago
  Hi I don’t like responding to all messages in a thread I started.. but since no one else is, there are a zillion reasons why the map stopped updating. But fun fact, you didn’t actually know the plane was doing a 180 turn unless someone told you. In the pitch black or in clouds without reference, your brain loses sync of its inner ear balance and starts making up directions. You could be in level flight and your troll brain will tell you you are descending in a high rate spin. If you look at your instruments you’ll know this is a lie, but it is very difficult to overcome.. passengers don’t have instruments so troll brain fills the gap. This is also why flying into clouds who are not prepared is fatal for pilots. That’s not why I responded tho, I responded because I used to be just like you. I hate turbulence, more importantly I hate negative Gs. It’s not normal and so your brain creates scenarios but the reality is, it’s just a pothole in the sky. One thing that made me get over my turbulence fears was getting into a simulator (or behind the controls of a real plane if you find the opportunity). I did exactly what the I hate so much. Over power the takeoff and pushed forward on the yolk to compensate and keep a slow climb. If I were a passenger I would have felt like we were climbing at a fast rate and then suddenly dropping as I corrected. My wings weren’t level until I hit autopilot and throttles fell back to 20%, passengers would think we were falling out of the sky because thrust disappeared and engines went quiet. Then I set the flight level and the throttles picked up again and we start climbing normally, calm and relaxed passengers again. I broke into a hysterical laughter and realized all of my flying fears stemmed from not only a lack of control but a lack of understanding what’s happening in the cockpit. Watch some YouTube videos from the cockpit of cross country airbus or 737 flights. Watch turbulent landings and what the pilots are doing. In America, pilots are seriously over trained and know their craft like the back of their hand (source: pilot neighbor). Sit back and relax, sip some wine to ease the nerves. Flight is the safest mode of transport.

by o-__-o 7y ago

lima 7y ago

> Panasonic holds an almost monopoly on aircraft inflight entertainment, especially on widebody planes. They run redboot Linux and have a pretty strict firewall between the plane and computer. All of what the author did was expected by the Panasonic devs hence the disclaimer. Probably got tired of people reporting it as a vulnerability and added the disclaimer.

o-__-o 7y ago
Fun fact: a gentleman on a united flight found this data and tweeted saying he hacked the plane. An investigation kicked off and this disclaimer was added.

DaiPlusPlus 7y ago

Unrelated-but-related: why is it that the in-flight-status screen on the IFE or WiFi flight status page sometimes stops and simply shows the plane fixed and unmoving? Background: I’m a terrible flyer (I’m okay with turbulence, but unexpected manoeuvres really spook me), so on a recent SEA-ORD night flight I woke-up as we were approaching a O’Hare - doing a 180-degree turn over Lake Michigan so it was pitch black outside the window, but the IFE map showed we were over South Dakota where the flight should be straight and level, no turns for hours. So for more than just a brief moment I was convinced the plane was starting to spiral out of control like Lauda Air 004 - or it was a pilot suicide like Germanwings 9525. It wasn’t until a minute after Chicago came back into view that the IFE map refreshed with our current location. My friend I was travelling with said the map froze an hour earlier. Paranoid me thinks that if something were to go wrong with the plane that the pilots or flight attendants would shut down the IFE map or have it show false information to stop passengers from panicking. (Why yes, when I was younger I did believe the urban-myth about the brace-position only being there to preserve your jawline for later body identification through dental records)

o-__-o 7y ago
Hi I don’t like responding to all messages in a thread I started.. but since no one else is, there are a zillion reasons why the map stopped updating. But fun fact, you didn’t actually know the plane was doing a 180 turn unless someone told you. In the pitch black or in clouds without reference, your brain loses sync of its inner ear balance and starts making up directions. You could be in level flight and your troll brain will tell you you are descending in a high rate spin. If you look at your instruments you’ll know this is a lie, but it is very difficult to overcome.. passengers don’t have instruments so troll brain fills the gap. This is also why flying into clouds who are not prepared is fatal for pilots. That’s not why I responded tho, I responded because I used to be just like you. I hate turbulence, more importantly I hate negative Gs. It’s not normal and so your brain creates scenarios but the reality is, it’s just a pothole in the sky. One thing that made me get over my turbulence fears was getting into a simulator (or behind the controls of a real plane if you find the opportunity). I did exactly what the I hate so much. Over power the takeoff and pushed forward on the yolk to compensate and keep a slow climb. If I were a passenger I would have felt like we were climbing at a fast rate and then suddenly dropping as I corrected. My wings weren’t level until I hit autopilot and throttles fell back to 20%, passengers would think we were falling out of the sky because thrust disappeared and engines went quiet. Then I set the flight level and the throttles picked up again and we start climbing normally, calm and relaxed passengers again. I broke into a hysterical laughter and realized all of my flying fears stemmed from not only a lack of control but a lack of understanding what’s happening in the cockpit. Watch some YouTube videos from the cockpit of cross country airbus or 737 flights. Watch turbulent landings and what the pilots are doing. In America, pilots are seriously over trained and know their craft like the back of their hand (source: pilot neighbor). Sit back and relax, sip some wine to ease the nerves. Flight is the safest mode of transport.