Can I use my phone to take pictures while it is in airplane mode?

Of course you can. Taking pictures does not require a data / internet connection.

not to be a jerk but would trying it not have given a faster answer than posting it as a q ?

Yes. you can do anything that does;t require the internet. Taking photos included. If the aircraft has wifi available, you can enable airplane mode, then visit Settings > Wifi and enable wifi and connect to their wifi while Airplane Mode is still active (blocking your cellular data and bluetooth amongst other things).