|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The dawning of a new technological era is rarely apparent in real time. Sorry to say, in spite of what you read on LinkedIn or watch on YouTube, every press release does not constitute a revolution. Having said that, March 18, 2025 felt like the beginning of something important.
That was the day Starlink, the satellite internet company owned by SpaceX, announced a price cut of more than 50% for their most popular in-motion subscription plan (to $65/mo.), at the same time they raised the maximum speed to 350 mph. That new plan, when combined with the portable Starlink Mini hardware kit ($499), means pilots can finally have high speed internet access in flight, without large external antennas or prohibitively expensive monthly fees. Not coincidentally, March 18 was also the day my phone started buzzing with texts and emails, as dozens of pilots I know asked about how to get started with Starlink. If this anecdotal sample is any guide, pilots have noticed the news.
Starlink Mini isn’t exactly tiny, but it can be mounted in most GA airplanes.
The system is hardly perfect. The Starlink Mini antenna is still a little large and can be tricky to mount safely. It requires more power than most cigarette plugs and even panel-mount USB ports can put out (larger battery packs work well, though), and it’s certainly not made specifically for aviation. But it works reliably in everything from a Cherokee to a King Air, and requires no special software for any mobile device you have. I’ve flown with it on multiple cross-country trips and can tell you it’s like having full-speed home Wi-Fi on your airplane, all over the US and at all altitudes.
This promises to be a major advancement in cockpit technology, with benefits for pilots and passengers alike. But before diving headfirst into the Starlink pool, it would be wise to pause for just a moment and contemplate what we might lose. Don’t worry, I’m no Luddite and I’m not here to scare anyone away from an exciting new gadget. I am, however, an observer with enough experience to have seen technological breakthroughs bring unintended consequences. I fear that may happen here.
Imagine the possibilities
First, the positives, because there are many. With a high speed internet connection, pilots are able to access essentially any weather product that’s available on the internet, including full resolution radar (from non-aviation sites), one-minute old METARs (available at some airports but not sent through to FAA data streams), and even live weather cameras (increasingly common in the Lower 48 and quite handy on IFR days). This can be combined with non-weather data for smarter decision-making. Trying to find a gap in a line of weather? Pull up FlightAware and see where everyone else is going.
In addition to receiving more data, pilots are also able to transmit information, a major change compared to traditional one-way services like ADS-B and SiriusXM. I would love to submit PIREPs, perhaps even with photos, instead of tying up the ATC frequency (apps like Virga already offer such features). This could dramatically improve the weather picture for other pilots and remove some of the bias inherent in today’s system, where only bad weather gets reported. Or imagine talking to experts on the ground, much like airline pilots do with dispatch: you might send a picture of erratic CHT readings on your engine monitor to your A&P, or text an experienced flight instructor about the weather up ahead.
Of course these examples only affect the pilot. There are also countless benefits for passengers—which should not be underestimated. If our passengers are happier taking long trips, perhaps because they can scroll through social media or keep up with their work, they very well might fly more often with you. That’s hardly a bad thing.
Beyond these obvious uses, I suspect Starlink will help in ways we can’t even imagine yet. As some analysts have noted, it was easy to imagine we would get mobile email when Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007; nobody could envision Uber or Instagram. Likewise, I expect smart people will invent all kinds of products and services to make Starlink even more useful for pilots and passengers.
And yet, lurking in the background are two concerns that I can’t quite shake.
Don’t ignore safety concerns
The wet blankets of the aviation community will quickly remind us of the potential risks of flying with a full internet connection. My reflexive answer to these people is “lighten up,” because they probably opposed the nose wheel and GPS when they first came out. But even the most ardent tech enthusiast must admit that, at least in this case, they do have a point.
We’ve all seen it—now imagine it on short final with Starlink.
It’s easy to imagine reading the NTSB report about an influencer on YouTube or Instagram who crashed while livestreaming on final approach (“Can I land in a 40-knot crosswind? Ride along and find out!”). Kids these days, right? Unfortunately, it’s not just a youth problem: consider the hard-charging businessman who was trying to close a deal at 8000 feet and didn’t notice the ice building up on his wings. If this sounds far-fetched, just watch some videos of people walking into glass doors or light poles while staring at their phones. For an aviation example, remember the airline pilots (way back in 2009) who were so caught up in “discussing the pilot schedule” on their laptop that they overflew their destination. Loss of focus can happen, and it’s insidious.
Attention is a scarce resource in life today, and flying light airplanes requires a lot of it. If a pilot’s use of Starlink is undisciplined, he can quickly trade a valuable safety tool for a dangerous distraction. I predict someone will do something colossally stupid early on, and the FAA will make an example of them. I hope it does not spur new FARs that restrict this potentially lifesaving technology, but it’s certainly possible.
What else might we lose?
Overall, I’m optimistic when it comes to safety. Autopilots, glass cockpits, and yes, even the nose wheel led to some erosion of old school pilot skills, but with an accompanying increase in overall safety. The accident record over the last 20 years has proven this in compelling detail—for every crash caused by slavishly following the magenta line, three or four others were prevented by the same avionics. I suspect Starlink will follow a similar path, with a few notable accidents that elicit much head-shaking, but unimagined benefits that more than offset these few exceptions.
I am much less optimistic, however, about the effects of connectivity on pilots’ state of mind, especially the loss of temporary isolation that only small airplanes can provide. While it’s occasionally frustrating to be cut off while cruising along in your Cessna or Bonanza, it’s also the last sanctuary for most of us in an increasingly distracted world. Can you imagine sitting still for two hours without the internet anywhere else besides an airplane?
Most Americans would answer no. To take just one depressing example, a 2014 study found that 67% of men would rather endure an electrical shock than be bored for 15 minutes. Apparently little has changed from the 1600s, when French mathematician Blaise Pascal memorably wrote, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
I didn’t learn to fly so I could be alone with my thoughts, but I quickly discovered it was a nice side benefit. Flying forces you to leave your everyday worries on the ground and focus on the job of pilot in command, the way a good book or concert can make the outside world disappear temporarily. Antoine de Saint-Exupery called it the “lighthouse-keeper’s isolation,” a beautiful way of describing both the loneliness and the gravity of the pilot’s job when he starts the engine. That has never been more valuable than it is today, when our brains have been rewired by constant dopamine hits from our smartphones. I often come back from a flight feeling refreshed and exhilarated in a way that’s hard to describe to non-pilots.
Do airlines even need windows anymore?
If this all sounds like a curmudgeon complaining about change, I confess there is a resemblance, but for a preview of how this might go just think about the last airline flight you took. For me, I saw a plane load of 185 people close every single window shade before even leaving the gate (I was on the aisle, so could not engage in an act of civil disobedience). There was hardly a whiff of curiosity about the outside world flying by at 500 mph. What could lure everyone away from a stunning view of the Florida coastline as we enjoyed one of modern man’s most incredible inventions? The side of the 737 was painted with a big logo advertising “Fast, Free Wi-Fi.”
I sure hope that shades-down mentality doesn’t happen to GA pilots.
The answer is not to shun in-flight connectivity, but to think about what you want from the technology before you start flying with it, much like parents are starting to do with social media and their children. Regardless of any new regulations, we should all create our own standard operating procedures for flying with Starlink—sterile cockpit rules for the connected airplane. For example, no texting, emails, or other nonessential work below 10,000 feet in a turbine airplane or within 25 miles of the airport in a piston airplane seems like a minimum rule. A standard briefing for passengers about when and how to use their devices would also be smart. Finally, I’d love to see EFB apps create a “Starlink mode” that enables only in-flight data, like weather or PIREP submissions, without allowing less important features like updating chart databases. The specific SOPs will vary from pilot to pilot and airplane to airplane; the essential step is to have some habits in place before you go flying with it for the first time.
An even simpler idea is to schedule a tech-free flight once in a while, one where you turn off the autopilot, Starlink, and maybe even the GPS, and remember how to look out the window. This is a great way to refresh your stick and rudder skills, practice old fashioned situational awareness, and (no less importantly) have fun. That is why most of us fly, isn’t it?
- The Starlink era is here—will we regret it? - April 9, 2025
- Pilot’s Bucket List: 11 Must-Do Adventures After Earning Your License - March 14, 2025
- Who is the pilot in command of your aircraft? - February 10, 2025
Looking at the fineprint, Starlink can only be used in up to 100 miles per hour – so it hardly can be used iinflight, except when slowing down….
You have to pick the right plan. The new Local Priority plan works up to 350 mph so it’s a great fit for most airplanes.
John: thanks for the article. I’ve been told that the starlink mini won’t work with the local priority 350mph plan. Did you get the mini to work with the local priority?
The new plans go into effect in about 5 days, so the 350mph max isn’t active yet.
Hi John,
Under service plans for the mini…I see Mobile Priority which is at $250/month gives over land & ocean in motion >200 kts.
Is the local priority plan you observed something new for GA pilots? Under help on subscription the local priority does not come up. Please enlighten.
If true that is a Game Changer! Thanks
@Parvez: Google around, the Mini+Roam plan works in small airplanes (there are tons of threads both on COPA and BeechTalk discussing it). The speed restriction there is old. It just works.
Marcel, your statment is incorrect. To be able to use Starlink above 100MPH, you have to buy a different package from Starlink.
On an already interconnected cockpit, using Wi-Fi from a Stratus III through an IFD440, having another internet connection could cause some issues that might be hard to diagnose in flight I can see the potential benefits, but I can see the distractions too.
John, your last paragraph is the key!
I’ve noticed the same mostly shade down phenomena on commercial flights. Sad reflection of modern society that is either too caught up in the digital world or are making sure everyone else sees they are bored by the experience as seasoned travelers.Whether on a bus, train or plane, I’m looking out the window!.
We will see the equivalent of the txt’r walking into the lamp post, idiocy transcends tech…don’t blame the tech, blame the idiot.
Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. Get that right or pay the piper.
Such a well written piece! For all my flying years I have indeed coveted the beautiful isolation of solo flying, both fixed wing and rotor. I’m not TOTALLY a loner curmudgeon, but some of my most moving moments have been alone while flying. Doors-off and low in a helicopter with the agriculturalal aromas sweeping through from the farms below. Flying below the Class B space in a metropolitan area without aother SINGLE discernible human being in sight. (Just blurs of traffic below.) Good for the mind’s maintenance, and deeply appreciated.
Wow! What a great piece of writing!! I’ve been asked why I fly if I can’t get to x destination faster than a commercial flight. I’ve been a pilot for three years and took up the pursuit quite late in life as something I’d always wanted to do but the time was never there. When time came, I needed something to keep me from becoming nothing more than an old movie and a glass of wine. Once I started flying after my PPL, I realized it was the best getaway I’d ever experienced. I just tell folks why do you fish, or camp.
Thanks again !
Good points. My flights are typically less than 3 hours, so I’m seldom “bored” — I’m routinely scanning and tweaking, checking VOR bearings, looking at the FIS-B weather, refreshing myself on the destination and the anticipated approach… I like to think I wouldn’t be so caught up in non-ATC communicating that I’d be distracted from aviating, but I’ll confess to occasionally spending too much time attempting to message in-flight photos to friends while at 16,000 ft. We’re only human.
Check out https://ast-science.com/spacemobile-network/our-technology/ for the future of cellular broadband directly to you smartphone or other cellular device. No extra antenna/modem needed.
COVID lockdown: self isolating at 3,000 feet – bliss.
Great insight into the impacts of a new technology. As you say: pros and cons. Your article has made me think about adopting safe habits around the use of this technology, particularly within 25 miles of terminal areas, departing and arriving. I also suggest no non-essential-to-flight Starlink activity in IMC.
Now I get to watch YouTube from the cockpit! Sounds amazing! (in all seriousness, I think Starlink is going to be a big disrupter in GA).
John this was so well written and articulates my sentiments with full alignment! I immediately sent it to my wife to read and help hold me accountable to the important principles of life and flying safely you have shared!
Bravo Zulu Sir!
Just back from SnF and a trip down to the Turks & Caicos with Starlink in the aircraft. it took three support tickets to finally get Starlink to give me the correct service package(s) that would work above 100mph. As of right now (April 20) the two that I know work are Global Priority and Local Priority. I needed Global Priority when going “down island” and for that I paid $250/mo for the service and $100 for 50GB of data. That is more than enough … until you start streaming video. However, for making high-quality phone calls, like to Customs to let them know you are going to be an hour late because Provo wouldn’t let you back-taxi due to inbound traffic, and to get real-time weather data, it is superb.
For people staying in the US and not flying over oceans the Local Priority package is sufficient. It is $40/mo and $25 per 50GB of data. If you want to buy 500GB of data (you really DO want in-flight movies for your passengers) it is $125/mo extra.
Tech stuff. I installed a dedicated 10A circuit on the main bus to power my Starlink Mini. Since the Starlink Mini will run on any DC power source from 12V-60V, it can be connected to the aircraft bus for power regardless of whether you have a 14V or 28V electrical system. BTW, current draw on 28V is ½ that of current draw on 14V. Mine typically draws about 1.5A from the 28V electrical system when in use. If your airplane has a 14V electrical system, expect about twice that. Even at 14V the current draw will not exceed 5A (2.5A at 28V).
Now, as for WiFi, you can use the WiFi in the Mini as an access point so all your devices connect to the same WiFi SSID and share data. Avidyne can operate as either Access Point (AP) or client. Set everything to use the Mini as the AP and now your iPad or iPhone sees everything. Pretty slick.
What aircraft speed did that plan allow Brian? Im finding it difficult to find the Global Priority plan you have. I am sub 250 kts.
It must also be kept in mind that Starlink is owned by a spoiled brat who can – and has – cut off the service to an entire country on a personal whim. He has more money than god and simply doesn’t care about anyone else, so if he wants to restrict its availability, or quadruple the cost, or turn it off completely, he will. The rules of the game are very different when someone like that owns it and has a track record of taking the ball and going home. The promise and benefits of Starlink are real. So are the possible downsides. When someone has shown you who the really are, believe them.
Mostly I enjoy the “flow” experience of flying and this is not compatible with that. I am sure this will become commonplace but I will only be using it for long cross countries, if then.
It doesn’t take very long to think of some uniquely aviation benefits: How about real time cockpit voice and cockpit data recording which is linked to a terrestrial web site right up to the last second before the crash? No more digging through a smoking hole trying to find the recorders only for the lab to report that they stopped recording 2 years ago and no one noticed. Lots of possibilities here…
Yes there will be distracted flying by some…
These new 100W USB outlets from Mid Continent are specifically designed to power Starlink but only in 28 V Aircraft.
https://www.mcico.com/truebluepower/catalogsearch/result/index/?output_power=6123%2C6144&q=Starlink