My experience with Starlink Mini

The size of the mini should be able to allow for it to be installed on a Bonanza and have the avionics built in. If the subscription price comes down to around $100 a month, I would guess that it would become ubiquitous on GA aircraft, even if the installation costs were in the multi thousand dollar range. I would not be surprised if avionics manufacturers such as Garmin offer this in the near future. Besides the obvious improvements in weather and other data in the cockpit, the two way communication capability would enable CPDLC like services for GA, like receiving clearances and provide an alternative to being able for ATC to contact the pilot when VHF contact is lost. It will be revolutionary.
 
John Collins said:
The size of the mini should be able to allow for it to be installed on a Bonanza and have the avionics built in. If the subscription price comes down to around $100 a month, I would guess that it would become ubiquitous on GA aircraft, even if the installation costs were in the multi thousand dollar range. I would not be surprised if avionics manufacturers such as Garmin offer this in the near future. Besides the obvious improvements in weather and other data in the cockpit, the two way communication capability would enable CPDLC like services for GA, like receiving clearances and provide an alternative to being able for ATC to contact the pilot when VHF contact is lost. It will be revolutionary.
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Unfortunately, right now Starlink for aviation is very much aimed at the high-end bizjet market. Their pricing for unlimited aviation use is $10,000 per month; 20GB is $2,000 per month with $100/gig overage.

I'm not sure what @Martin Pauly's experience was, but they say on the website that the "Roam" plans that are more affordable are limited to 100mph for in-motion use. That's how they enforce the more expensive RV plans and such too, via geofencing.

Edit: Now that I watched the video, I see that you can spend $250/month for the Mobile Priority plan, and they do say it's OK for GA up to 250 knots. That's new! They sure buried it deep in their website, but I finally found it here: https://www.starlink.com/support/article/36fcdd07-e552-3dec-c6cc-bf8b8bb669cd
 
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What can you tell us about the new plans coming this year? I’m hearing that the limit may be raised to 350mph…?

250 works for me, but only with a headwind.
 
dans2992 said:
What can you tell us about the new plans coming this year? I’m hearing that the limit may be raised to 350mph…?

250 works for me, but only with a headwind.
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All you need is money. The any-speed aviation plans start at $2,000/month.
 
What does the $250 include?

It’s a bit too expensive for GA. How many trips do we do per year, and the pilot is flying, it’s only for our passengers to go on social media.

I feel like maybe pay the $10 per trip like you would as a passenger in a commercial aircraft.
 
Cost is the biggest barrier for me. It compares to the cost of an annual in a good year or insurance.

I’d pay about the similar cost of my annual Nav database or ForeFlight subscription, but it would be more of a luxury. Still, I can live without.

It would be great for IFR WX if one plays that close. Otherwise for internet, my cell service in most places I fly can handle it if I fly less than 5k MSL or so.

As for the video, thanks for putting the cost right up front. Most people leave the punchline til the end. You might lose viewers at that time stamp though. Is that something YT creators can see?
 
dans2992 said:
What can you tell us about the new plans coming this year? I’m hearing that the limit may be raised to 350mph…?

250 works for me, but only with a headwind.
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Obviously, you have the wrong airplane. You should trade airplanes with me, then you would only need the less than 100knot plan and you would have much more time to enjoy your in-flight internet every time you go somewhere.
 
The average GA pilot flies just under 100 hours per year or about 8 hours per month. A subscription at $100 per month for 250 Kt built in avionics system makes sense to me for piston aircraft. Overall it would represent a very small demand for usage of the available Starlink system.
 
Anthem said:
Technically business jets are also GA. Pricing is going to be high for some and cheap for others.

But no way is it going to be $10 per trip. Because you’d have to aggregate that together on that plane with passengers whereby the gross is significantly higher. And why would anyone bother with $10 billing on a whim. Even the cell carriers don’t want to deal with that. And siriusxm weather is 6x that. So you want way more than what others are providing for 1/6 the cost…. Again makes no market sense

And if you think about it - it’s just a few hours of fuel burn. Or 1/2 month hangar. So it really depends on how important it is to you or your passengers. But I don’t think you are going to ever see $10 per flight - where you get to choose the start/stop times on your own.
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I believe I got the 50GB roam plan for $50/month with the ability to pause and start services, guessing that’s on a monthly basis. This is limited to 100mph. What does it matter if you are going 100mph or 200mph? It’s just a setting. There could be a light aviation plan with a speed restriction that is in the single engine piston range. If I can use it for both aviation and RV then it has some benefit. But 50GB is pretty limiting already.
 
Anthem said:
They do have limits
50mph
250 knots (about 280mph)
Unlimited

Those are the tiers at the moment. It does matter - just like it matters if you are brining jet a vs 100ll. Or that you are a g650 vs vision jet. Everything is priced based on ability to pay and applicability.
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150/180mph vs 280mph airplane is a hella difference in operating costs.
 
Anthem said:
Not much at all. It’s much bigger than 280 to 290. That difference is close to 10x.
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I mean from the pilot side on operating a 150mph aircraft vs 280mph aircraft.
 
Just activated my mini last night, doing an XC ferry flight tomorrow. Very excited to try this sucker at last.

I'll be in a Bonanza using a side window (because no thanks glareshield mounting) and am wondering how much the performance will suffer. I'm already contemplating making a little "tray" to fit under my glareshield, above the radios and just slot the antenna in. I assume the fiberglass and vinyl glareshield will not block Ku-band too badly? I can research it when I'm enroute :D

The whole antenna is smaller than my 16" MBP and fits in my backpack sweetly. It is hoped that the TSA goons won't give me attitude about it.
 
schmookeeg said:
Just activated my mini last night, doing an XC ferry flight tomorrow. Very excited to try this sucker at last.

I'll be in a Bonanza using a side window (because no thanks glareshield mounting) and am wondering how much the performance will suffer. I'm already contemplating making a little "tray" to fit under my glareshield, above the radios and just slot the antenna in. I assume the fiberglass and vinyl glareshield will not block Ku-band too badly? I can research it when I'm enroute :D

The whole antenna is smaller than my 16" MBP and fits in my backpack sweetly. It is hoped that the TSA goons won't give me attitude about it.
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What subscription plan did you go with?
 
mandm said:
50GB is pretty limiting already.
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It's not much data considering the price, but it should be plenty for aviation use unless your passenger is streaming video.
 
I don't know that I would buy one just to leave in the plane, but since I already have one for use while I'm in IQ/SY, may as well put it in the plane when I get back.
 
I have to say that I'm kind of impressed with my (regular size) starlink. I had set the thing on the flat roof of our rental house we're building. We got a day with 40mph winds and Margy found it had taken a three story plunge off the top of the roof. I found two things:

1. The routers have some low data rate backchannel to the satellites even without the dish. I kept getting motion notification from the ring cameras even though the dish wasn't connected.
2. The thing survived that fall just fine. I plugged it back in and it is working fine even though the little flip out leg that keeps it tilted broke off. I've got the eave mount and I will do that as soon as I get a new ladder.

The downside was I was using this telescoping ladder (thought it would be good since I had to drag it up three flights before I could then go on the roof of the "penthouse" room. One of the aluminum extrusions holding a rung on failed and dumped me 6 feet to the (fortunately wood) deck. I hope my hand isn't broken.
 
This thread made me wonder...
If this is true:
A1Topgun said:
The ADS-B antennas are mounted on cell towers if they're not at airports. If you park where you can see the cell tower your receiver should pick up the transmission.
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Will the ADSB towers be replaced with Starlink? Are the towers owned by Verizon?
 
Oh, using Starlink for backhaul, I thought you were talking about ADSB receivers on Starlink satellites. Gotcha.
 
From a friend's post on Diamond Aviators Network. This is huge news for GA:

Updated article in Sporty's iPad Pilot News

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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."​
 
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this is the main reason I was thinking of getting an epic1000. they have a built in spot for the mini.

 
David Loftus said:
From a friend's post on Diamond Aviators Network. This is huge news for GA:

Updated article in Sporty's iPad Pilot News

​
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."​
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I can’t find this on the starlink website, starlink needs to improve its offering. Obviously a jet flying 500mph has a higher budget on their internet. Us GA folk just want basic use in flight (well our passengers), we need a smaller starlink mini unit as well. I’ll probably order it again but I’m waiting for a more appealing offer. Starlink does have a 30 day trial, and you’ll get a full refund if you decide to return the equipment and cancel the service.
 
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