Satcom Direct has confirmed that its Plane Simple antenna system is fully functional following a series of transatlantic and European validation flights. In more than 16 hours of testing across a three day period, the tail mounted Ku-band Plane Simple antenna system demonstrated its compatibility with the Intelsat FlexExec satellite network.

The Gulfstream G350 flight confirmed the reliability of the hardware, which has been developed specifically for business aviation. The flight transitioned between three satellites on the Intelsat network as the aircraft flew along the east coast of the USA, across the North Atlantic and on to Ireland, before returning back to base in Melbourne, Florida.

The beam transmission was considered a success as more than 29GB of data was transmitted during the flight trials across Intelsat's satellite network. The SDR Gateway router supported Wi-Fi distribution to numerous personal electronic devices in the cabin, enabling multiple streaming applications, video conferencing calls and Live TV to be simultaneously active.

“This heralds a new era for business aviation as it confirms SD has successfully developed a powerful hardware system that supports unparalleled connectivity services from a single source supplier. Contacting just one company for all connectivity needs streamlines the ownership experience, enhances customer support and demystifies the complexity of aviation connectivity,” says president of Satcom Direct business aviation, Chris Moore. “The results prove that SD can support HD data streams for numerous onboard users concurrently and demonstrates that we remain committed to optimising the possibilities delivered by the digitisation of aviation.”

The Plane Simple antenna consists of only two LRUs, an antenna and a modem, both are designed to be easy to access, enabling easier upgrade paths and maintenance. The modem is positioned in the unpressurised part of the aircraft, which should return stowage space to the aircraft.

SD is now working on generating commercial supplemental type certificates to support Plane Simple installations. It anticipates the first will be for Falcon 2000 owners.

The tail mounted Plane Simple Ku-band antenna is the first in a series being developed by SD in partnership with Germany based QEST. Once activated it will support the Intelsat FlexExec Ku-band service, which has been designed as the only airtime service dedicated exclusively for business aviation.