Flying with Starlink satellite internet: tips for pilots

Flying with Starlink satellite internet: tips for pilots
iPad Pilot News

In-flight satellite connectivity is more accessible now than ever for pilots flying piston airplanes and light jets. We’ve covered the developments extensively over the past year, starting with the latest iPhones supporting free satellite text messaging. In recent news, T-Mobile added text message capability via satellite using the direct-to-cell capabilities of Starlink, and Verizon added a similar service for those with certain Android phones this past week. Lastly, Garmin’s inReach Plus provides a dedicated hardware solution for more reliable and robust in-flight messaging and supports sending pictures.

While these options are welcome additions to the cockpit and allow you to stay in touch with friends and family on the ground, they are limited to low-bandwidth text messaging and do not provide full internet connectivity. If you’re looking for high-speed internet from coast to coast, from 6,000′ to FL410, Starlink is the way to go. Thanks to recent reductions in antenna size and new affordable subscription plans, this system is finally ready for primetime in the personal aviation market.

How Starlink works

Starlink started launching satellites into space in 2019 with the goal of providing broadband internet to every corner of the world. Only 6 years later, there are now over 7,000 satellites in orbit providing service to over 100 countries.

Traditional satellite internet systems rely on high-altitude geostationary satellites located approximately 19,000 miles above the earth’s surface, creating high latency connections that cannot support high-speed internet services (streaming, video calls, etc).

Starlink’s satellites are positioned at a much lower altitude of 300 miles above the earth, cutting latency from 600 ms to 25 ms, and feature average download speeds between 25 and 100 Mbps, with an advertised maximum of 220 Mbps.

The system is quite affordable for residential use, especially for rural areas without access to traditional high-speed services. The standard Starlink antenna kit costs $350, and unlimited data plans start at $80/month for 100 Mbps speeds. This antenna is approximately 23″ x 15″, requires 110v power, and must be stationary.

The next evolution of the system is called Starlink Roam, which is designed with in-motion use and portability in mind. This is ideal for RVers, boaters, and now pilots, and you can use the newer Starlink Mini antenna with this plan.

This portable antenna is much smaller, measuring only 12″ x 10″, can be powered by a 40W USB port, and costs $499. You can pay by the month for the service and pause/un-pause as needed based on your travel plans. More on Roam pricing options later.

Using Starlink in an airplane

We purchased a Starlink Mini antenna when it first hit the market last summer and have flown with it in various airplanes, including a Cessna 182, Cirrus SR-22, Bonanza A36, Pilatus PC-12, and Cessna Citation. While the Mini antenna and Roam package at the time weren’t officially sanctioned for private aviation use, it worked well in our experience.

Mounting the Mini antenna in a GA airplane takes some creativity due to its size, but it can be done. It’s much larger than a Sentry Plus and has the footprint of a 13″ iPad Pro. In the Cessna and Cirrus, we used a suction cup mount from Etsy to secure it in the rear window above the baggage area:

In the Bonanza, we found it worked best by securing it on the right side of glareshield:

The PC-12 and Citation presented more challenges, as there were not a lot of good options other than using the suction cups to secure it to the side co-pilot window, which was less than ideal. Rear passenger windows weren’t a great option either due to their small size and curved surface

The Mini includes a standard 110v wall plug but can also be powered by USB-C (requires at least 40W). We used a portable battery back that supplied this high output via USB-C for our testing. Some panel-mount USB-C ports are rated for greater than 40W, so that’s an option too.

The system is easy to use once the antenna is secured and powered up. You’ll install a dedicated Starlink app on your iPhone, iPad or Android to assist with setup, but for the most part, “it just works.” The antenna includes an integrated router that creates its own Wi-Fi network, which you’ll connect to just like a ground-based Wi-Fi network. The antenna takes just a few minutes to establish a satellite connection when you power it on.

In our piston airplane flying, we routinely got 125 Mbps at 10,000′ with virtually no delay or latency.  You can monitor the satellite connection status, speeds, diagnostic data, and more from the Starlink app. Coverage is excellent and is available from coast to coast in the U.S. and even into Alaska and the Caribbean.

Until last week, the Starlink Mobile Priority plan cost $250/month for 50 GB of data. That was by no means cheap, but it was a cost-effective solution to get high-speed internet in GA airplanes.

It gets better, though. Starlink revamped their plans again last week and lowered the price for that same plan (now called Local Priority) down to $65/month for in-motion speeds up to 350 mph. They also unlocked a new high-speed service, Global Priority, for $250/month, providing in-motion access at speeds up to 550 mph (478 knots). This, in theory, should work for most corporate jets, provided you can find a place to position the antenna.

Is using Starlink satellite internet legal in my airplane?

We’ll first quote Starlink’s take on the legality of using this system in an airplane:

For smaller General Aviation aircraft or for aircraft that we do not have an STC for yet, Starlink Mini may be used as a Portable Electronic Device (PED), on the interior of an aircraft only.

For larger aircraft solutions and information related to our current and upcoming STCs, please see here.

Note, this use of Starlink Mini has not been certified or otherwise approved by the FAA or any other civil aviation authority. As you consider Starlink Mini, we encourage you to contact your local Flight Standard District Office (FSDO) in the US, and familiarize yourself with the FAA Advisory Circular 91.21-1D “Use of Portable Electronic Devices Aboard Aircraft” to ensure that you meet all the operational requirements for use of Starlink Mini.

Starlink is authorized for use over international waters around the globe. Coverage over local territorial waters and in motion over land is contingent on government approval. Starlink has received regulatory approval to provide in-motion Aviation service in the following countries/territories.

In our experience flying with the system over the past 8 months, it’s not so much of a concern about the legality or PED interference as it is about using the system responsibly to avoid distractions. It’s perfect for retrieving updated weather beyond the scope of the ADS-B feed, filing PIREPs, or checking weather cameras at the destination. It’s very tempting to stream a video, catch up on email, or check social media, but those tasks quickly take your mind off what is most important: flying the airplane. That said, you can connect multiple mobile devices to the Wi-Fi network, so it’s a great way to provide an in-flight entertainment service to your passengers.

Starlink is just getting started, and the company plans to continue expanding the network by launching thousands of new satellites into space in the years ahead. It’s also encouraging to see such a significant price drop (and speed limit increase) in less than a year for the in-motion plans. And while there’s been no news or rumors to date, we’d love to see a new “Starlink Tiny” antenna announcement in the years ahead.

 

The post Flying with Starlink satellite internet: tips for pilots first appeared on iPad Pilot News.

The post Flying with Starlink satellite internet: tips for pilots appeared first on iPad Pilot News.

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