Although it is not registered as an exhibitor at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE), which was being held in Geneva from May 28 to 30, a startup company that offers in-flight connectivity for business aviation will be looming large over the competition from low Earth orbit.
An Upcoming Starlink Jet
The office-in-the-sky option of choice for American operators of King Air turboprops and long-range, large-cabin business jets quickly took shape thanks to Starlink, a branch of SpaceX. Its parent business, which as of May had peppered space with over 6,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites and developed an electronically guided phased array antenna to link with them, greatly aids the enterprise.
To replace larger mechanically steered assemblies, rival connectivity providers such as Viasat, Satcom Direct, and Gogo Business Aviation are creating electrically steered antennas. Eager to connect to the Eutelsat OneWeb constellation of more than 630 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, Gogo and partner Hughes Network Systems are getting ready to deploy FDX and smaller HDX flat-panel electronically steered antennas. These satellites are positioned at 1,200 km (745 mi.) above Earth, which is twice as high as Starlink’s 550 km altitude. In order to create the first European supplemental type certifications (STC) for installing the HDX antenna on the Embraer Phenom 300 and Cessna CitationJets, Gogo and Germany’s Atlas Air Group announced their collaboration in April.
A New Antenna Launch
During EBACE 2024, Satcom Direct revealed that the newest antenna in its Plane Simple series of mechanically steered tail-mounted antennas was launched for Austria’s Avcon Jet. It’s an electronically steered flat-panel antenna mounted on the fuselage that will also be able to connect to the Eutelsat OneWeb constellation. According to Viasat, at its center of excellence in Lausanne, Switzerland, the company is working on developing flat-panel electronically guided antennas that can connect to satellites in numerous orbits. In 2021, the company exhibited this technology on a Cessna Citation.
While additional STCs are being developed for these brands as well as Cessna, Dassault, Embraer, and Pilatus models, Starlink-authorized installers are installing the company’s low-profile, lightweight Aero Terminal electronically steered antennas to the fuselages of an increasing number of Gulfstream and Bombardier jets. To install Starlink equipment on Beechcraft King Air 200- and 300-series turboprops, Everett, Washington-based installer AeroMech/AMI has created STCs.
A Dealer Network For Starlink
Although industry sources claim that Starlink began building a dealer network this year, the corporation does not respond to inquiries from the press. It listed twenty models with STCs in development, twelve aircraft types with available STCs, and 21 authorized Starlink dealers as of mid-May.
Justin Vena, a sales representative for Duncan Aviation’s avionics installation division, states that the authorized dealer, Duncan Aviation, “is seeing a lot of demand for Starlink.” “We are quoting it on a daily basis now that we are selling avionics upgrades on models that have STCs available.” We write quotes and have everyday conversations with people.
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