Starlink to KOSH

[Fly Boomer]

2 minutes ago, RoundTwo said:

That seems to be the gist of what I’m seeing too. Well, it was great while it lasted.

Wonder what the horizontal distance is for the speed calculation.  I you were not in a hurry, you might be able to slow down and circle for a minute to complete transmission of an email or something.  Of course, that would likely cause them to introduce an altitude restriction. 

[Ibra]

1 hour ago, RoundTwo said:

I just read a discussion on a FB group that in the last couple of days Starlink has capped the Mini Roam speed to 100 mph. Can someone test to confirm or deny if this is true?

I have to wait for October to 10th when new T&C kicks in, yes 100mph would be useless in Mooney (even in Cub )

1 hour ago, Fly Boomer said:

Holding it against side window?  Some opinions said it would need to be on the glare shield for a more open view of the sky.

Over panel in front of windshield works better, for Mooney rear window it works as long as it’s facing north with clear view of the sky…

[Ibra]

1 hour ago, RoundTwo said:

This is from the Starlink Mini FB group. Looks like everything was fine until last Friday, 9/6/24. Of course, there’s always the $250/month plan, but that’s most likely a non-starter for recreational pilots.

Yes 250$/m is steep (x5) unless one flies long legs or have urgent stuff, it’s useless for recreational pilots

I think 250kts is what splits the washed and the unwashed in GA flying   SpaceX do have a monopoly, however, it seems that competitors are trying to catch it, Iridium now offers an unlimited data plan on 200$ USD for GoExec. At 88kbs it’s nowhere near 100mbs but they have small antenna and zero restrictions…

Another interesting I come across while debugging the box, they do allow use of SpaceX signal in position, navigation and timing (PNT). This goes deeper if we have it in our avionics: their Mini works even when NAVSTAR GPS is jammed because it keeps using internal SpaceX Starlink signal for position !

SpaceX viewed the use of Starlink signal for PNT (Position, Navigation, Timing) as "distraction". In reality, they wanted to stay away from this as it's not "their problem" or "today problem", they need to get people to use TikTok and stream cat videos from 40000ft, that's where the money is. For their own consumption, they managed to build proxy position using pure Starlink signal, this was to improve the tracking of the antenna, apparently, something like ~30m is enough to get internet working on anything other than rockets and most of the time they rely on GPS position

However, some research labs in Texas and MIT managed to get things down to ~5m with reverse engineering on Starlink signal. This was sponsored by US Militray and it was done without Starlink consent: they got people to work freely on this R&D project using taxpayer money (they can't get more smarter than this), this was used in Ukraine and it’s damn robust to Russian jamming !

I am not upgrading my panel GPS until it’s clear what SpaceX are planning for PNT/GPS and navigation applications along with other NextGen stuff from FAA on multi-constellations or multi-frequencies 

In the other hand, who wants SkyNet inside their Mooney 

Edited September 12 by Ibra

[M20F]

Apparently now not working in planes (sounds like it drops after 100mph).  They do have a new pricing plan which is now as cheap as $50 anywhere in North America for 50GB and then $1 per GB beyond. 

[Ibra]

52 minutes ago, M20F said:

They do have a new pricing plan which is now as cheap as $50 anywhere in North America for 50GB and then $1 per GB beyond. 

That’s the one I am using in France, it is allowed for use “in motion” without any explicit speed restriction, has anyone seen a speed restriction or warning on this plan (“Roam”) in Mooney or piston flying? I am not interested in 250kts-Mach8 applications, I don’t have the budget 

Edited September 12 by Ibra

[RoundTwo]

53 minutes ago, M20F said:

Apparently now not working in planes (sounds like it drops after 100mph).  They do have a new pricing plan which is now as cheap as $50 anywhere in North America for 50GB and then $1 per GB beyond. 

The Mini Roam is the one you’re referring to and as of last Friday, or thereabouts, it is now capped at 100 mph. For $250/mo, it will work at Mooney speeds.

[Ibra]

On 9/12/2024 at 3:46 PM, RoundTwo said:

The Mini Roam is the one you’re referring to and as of last Friday, or thereabouts, it is now capped at 100 mph. For $250/mo, it will work at Mooney speeds.

I tested mine on southerly heading, it stopped working “too fast, blabla…” 

It was a very long 9h flight, very disappointed 

[wombat]

So unless I've got a good tailwind, I can slow down to get online, then speed back up.  I love it.

FWIW, I just got a mini roam delivered yesterday, for other purposes.  I might try it in the plane at some point.

[Ryan ORL]

So I got a Starlink mini (mainly for Hurricane Preparation here in Florida) and I decided to temporarily upgrade to the $250 plan and throw it on the glareshield of my Mooney.

Heading north (Orlando to Charleston), it worked perfectly.  Over 100 Mbps at times.  I didn’t find it to be in the way at all.

Heading south, this evidently didn’t provide enough northern sky view so it would get stuck and refuse to initialize fully (“Calculating orientation”).  I decided for fun just to hand hold it up to a side window and point it as north and east as possible.  And it finally connected.  But the interesting thing was, once it connected, I was able to throw it back on the glareshield and use it just fine!  It held connection that way with no noticeable drop in speed for close to another hour, including a few course changes.

If anyone else decides to try this, try that if it gives you trouble.

I sure wish the mini had been available when I went to Alaska.  Wasted $600 on a used Iridium satphone and $500 or so on 200 (very slow) data minutes to get in-flight weather in Northern Canada.  I’m willing to bet Starlink would have worked much better!

[RoundTwo]

7 hours ago, Ryan ORL said:

So I got a Starlink mini (mainly for Hurricane Preparation here in Florida) and I decided to temporarily upgrade to the $250 plan and throw it on the glareshield of my Mooney.

Heading north (Orlando to Charleston), it worked perfectly.  Over 100 Mbps at times.  I didn’t find it to be in the way at all.

Heading south, this evidently didn’t provide enough northern sky view so it would get stuck and refuse to initialize fully (“Calculating orientation”).  I decided for fun just to hand hold it up to a side window and point it as north and east as possible.  And it finally connected.  But the interesting thing was, once it connected, I was able to throw it back on the glareshield and use it just fine!  It held connection that way with no noticeable drop in speed for close to another hour, including a few course changes.

If anyone else decides to try this, try that if it gives you trouble.

I sure wish the mini had been available when I went to Alaska.  Wasted $600 on a used Iridium satphone and $500 or so on 200 (very slow) data minutes to get in-flight weather in Northern Canada.  I’m willing to bet Starlink would have worked much better!

Great pirep.

[Pinecone]

It seems that StarLink is working on having a plan with mobile access for more in the $100 per month range.

Next, they need a smaller antenna that can be mounted on the glare shield, or outside.

[Ryan ORL]

2 hours ago, Pinecone said:

It seems that StarLink is working on having a plan with mobile access for more in the $100 per month range.

Next, they need a smaller antenna that can be mounted on the glare shield, or outside.

There is a local Cirrus guy here that has been pioneering a ton of the in-flight Starlink stuff (they have a nice rear/top window to use) and I've heard similar about the forthcoming plans.  Apparently some Cirrus owners are also working on a mount inside of the wingtip on the Cirrus, and one such example is already flying.

edit: To clarify, it is inside the wingtip i.e. through the composite fairing!

[Pinecone]

Someone on BeechTalk mounted the antenna in the radome on a twin.  A 310 owner made a mount for the center rear window, which is more in the roof.

It should work fine under fiberglass.  But carbon fiber will give it some issues.