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Chivon<-((—{

Filing Flight Plan
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Chivon<-(—{
I have not done a lot of research on the subject yet… But I thought I would start here… when my husband is flying, we have Internet service until about 3000 feet generously. All of our planes are small planes… I’m not talking jets… I am wondering if there is someway to have Internet while we are flying… That isn’t some insanely expensive endeavor. It would be nice if it was mobile because we have at the moment, five different planes… From a two seater Cessna, to the largest Piper Lance. It would be so nice on Long flights, when we are flying four to six hours if my family could stay connected. I wasn’t quite sure where to post this… And if there’s a better spot, please let me know! I am very new to this…
 
I don’t think it’s legal to use cellular in the air because it switches towers so much. It may not be the case, but that is what I heard. There are systems to give you internet in the air, but they are very expensive.
 
That Iridium device is nice, but it won’t come close to being internet browsing friendly will all the media heavy websites these days.

speeds of up to 22 Kbps and receive speeds of 88 Kbps and allows users to make phone calls through its built-in speaker or smartphone app, send texts, browse the internet, scroll social media, send and receive email, and more.
Click to expand...
 
Jesse Saint said:
I don’t think it’s legal to use cellular in the air because it switches towers so much. It may not be the case, but that is what I heard. There are systems to give you internet in the air, but they are very expensive.
Click to expand...

pilotworkshop.com

Cell Phone Use in General Aviation | PilotWorkshops

The FCC prohibits using cell phones while airborne. Avoid using your cell phone so you don't interfere with other cell transmissions or aircraft systems.
pilotworkshop.com

Somewhat depends on how you define "legal". The article says the FCC prohibits it, but provides no details on how that would be enforced, or what penalties might be applied.

But let's be honest with ourselves. At any given time, there are thousands of airborne cell phones not in airplane mode.
 
The FCC prohibits AMPS phones from being used in the air, with good reason. However, there haven't been any AMPS service for decades now.
 
notwithstanding any fcc or FAA statutes …. Trying to use a mobile for internet in the air is spotty at best. The plane is quickly moving between cells and that’s likely to cause drops. Plus, cell towers are designed to beam energy horizontally so you might get a cell from a long way off, then quickly drop just making it frustrating.
 
As said above, cellular antennas are not omni-directional, they radiate the vast majority of their energy horizontally. To radiate vertically would be a waste of antenna output. This is why cell service drops offs with altitude. Example:

There are services which allow text communication by satellite. Example:
www.findmespot.com

SPOT Satellite Communication Devices | Saved by SPOT | US

SPOT sells affordable satellite safety devices, delivering reliable location-based tracking, messaging and lifesaving SOS technology. SPOT products monitor your location, connecting to emergency responders while out of cellular range.
www.findmespot.com www.findmespot.com

If you're looking for living room quality service you are probably out of luck unless you can afford an airliner style system. Example:
www.kymetacorp.com

Kymeta Corp - Making Mobile Global

Unlocking the potential of broadband satellite connectivity, combined with cellular networks, Kymeta satisfies the demand for comms on the move and making mobile global.
www.kymetacorp.com www.kymetacorp.com
 
Starlink can be used while in motion.

www.starlink.com

Starlink

High-speed internet. Available almost anywhere on Earth.
www.starlink.com www.starlink.com
 
First, welcome to POA, may your stay be long and enjoyable.

I think any internet solution for your use case will have to be satellite based. Everything else is designed for use by the grounded masses.

Perhaps look into what the truck drivers use? Although most interstates are now covered, or at least I haven't lost signal on the interstate in a while...

Good luck, and I'll be keeping an eye on this as I am now curious.
 
Jesse Saint said:
I don’t think it’s legal to use cellular in the air because it switches towers so much. It may not be the case, but that is what I heard. There are systems to give you internet in the air, but they are very expensive.
Click to expand...
That was an issue with the old analog cell system. Not a problem with LTE.

But still not legal as the laws/regs have not been changed
 
I randomly got full internet at 8500’ once in the middle of no where, no idea how it worked but I welcomed the updated foreflight info in flight. It just depends where you are, if you are low enough, should be enough for messages to send and receive randomly.
 
If you are licensed as a ham, you can use APRS to send and receive short email and SMS texts via radio. WinLink has similar capabilities.
 
To get back to the OP's question - no, there is no 'affordable' solution for this yet. If there was, we'd all know about it and I imagine it would be very popular. There are (expensive) solutions for jets, but they are not portable. The cellular network was not designed for aircraft and as you've seen, only works (poorly) at low altitude. YouTuber Trent Palmer has Starlink installed in his plane, but that's an experimental, rag and tube design. Still, it demonstrates that there is no technical reason it couldn't be adapted and approved for certified aircraft at some point. Maybe OSH24?

C.
 
StarLink and T-Mobile have announced direct service from cell phone from satellites.
 
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