Dave Arbogast wrote: > Remember not to take your laptop above 10,000 msl as the hard drive > needs air for the heads to float above the platter.
That's what they say, but I've flown mine at 12,000' on a regular basis, and even as high as 17,000. I think what they may mean is that system robustness is degraded, for example it won't meet the same shock standards, but as smooth as it is at 17,000', mine still works fine. Having said that, I have a plastic water bottle that I closed up tight at 12,000' or so, and once on the ground I'll bet it has about a third of the volume left in it. On another matter, Harbor Freight sells a little 12V to 120V converter that's a little bigger than a soda can, and is good for several Amps. That's what I use, and it works fine except if I start the plane with it on and the laptop plugged in, it'll turn itself off out of self defense. The cure is to always cycle the switch after starting the engine, and it hums away happily for the rest of the flight. I also use it to charge my cell phone sometimes. I'll see y'all on the other side... Mark Langford N56ML "at" hiwaay.net website at http://www.N56ML.com --------------------------------------------------------
