Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

SmartSky Networks next-generation air-to-ground (ATG) network provides an unmatched connected experience inflight for both cabin and crew.

During the past year, SmartSky Networks completed its ground network, added more supplemental type certificates (STCs) for the installation of airborne hardware, and released the Lite version of its air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity system for smaller aircraft. A Pilatus PC-12 is the smallest aircraft STC’d so far for this system, and more approvals are expected soon for the Lite (one antenna) and Flagship (two antenna) systems.
“We are now at 15 STCs issued, covering 6,286 tails,” said SmartSky president Ryan Stone. “We’ve got another dozen active projects covering another 7,000 tails that should finish soon. There are three or four on their last steps with the FAA and a few more beyond that we’re working on and will announce soon.”
This week at NBAA-BACE, SmartSky is demonstrating its Lite system at static display AD_19 in a customer Citation CJ3+.&nbsp;
“We’re now a nationwide network,” Stone said, “and customers are talking and getting the word out. You can talk to people who have used SmartSky and get their feedback and opinions and see what our customers are experiencing.”
While the PC-12 is the smallest airplane to have a SmartSky Lite system installed, it is also suitable for smaller business jets and those where installing two belly-mounted antennas would be challenging.
For example, a customer purchased a Lite system for a Gulfstream G200 due to the difficulty of installing a second antenna near the jet’s ventral fins. “The upgraded G280 has plenty of room,” he said. “Super midsize and up will be a Flagship system, and anything below that will be the Lite.”
SmartSky's nationwide network is complete, but there are pockets in the upper Midwest and northern Nevada where the company is adding ground towers to get more “densification,” Stone explained. “We want to get a good, consistent experience there.”
There are no problems with network capacity, he added, because SmartSky’s “beamforming” technology was designed to accommodate 100 percent business aviation market penetration, based on the busiest day and hour, which would be about 1,100 aircraft flying and using SmartSky at the same time. “We’re sized to handle that,” he said.
The main difference between the Lite and Flagship systems is the speed at which they send information. Flagship gets up to 20 mbps downloads and five to 10 mbps uploads, while Lite has the same upload speed but about 10 mbps down.
Service plans cost $3,495 per month for a Lite unlimited package, or $995 per month for 10 hours of service and $99 for each additional hour. The Flagship service starts at $3,495 per month for five gigabytes and has various service levels up to the $9,995 per month unlimited flat rate.
SmartSky is adding new dealers, some of which develop STCs on their own. SmartSky has also engineered STCs, but no matter the source of the STC, dealers have to agree to make their SmartSky STCs available (for a license fee) to the dealer network. “It’s competition but coopetition,” Stone said. “We want to make sure [the STCs] are available in our network.”
Meanwhile, SmartSky is promoting its Skytelligence platform, which is enabled by high-speed connectivity. “Once you have connectivity, now it’s what you can do with it,” Stone said.
This translates into sustainability benefits that become available when making dynamic flight plan changes to auto route around weather or making trajectory changes automatically instead of manually. “With a capable network you can do these things, and that really changes the game,” he said.

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

SmartSky's Lite Hardware Is Latest Addition to Airborne Connectivity Lineup

NBAA-BACE attendees can try out the Lite system at the static display

A Pilatus PC-12 is the smallest aircraft STC’d so far for the Lite system, and more STCs are expected soon for the Lite (one antenna) and Flagship (two antenna) systems.

SmartSky Lite Is Latest Addition to Connectivity Lineup

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News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

The German company is taking a new approach to aerospace display technology.

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New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

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News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

NBAA-BACE 2023

In this article

SmartSky Networks

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Zeiss Microoptics Brings New Display Tech to Aircraft Cabin, Cockpit

The German company is taking a new approach to aerospace display technology.

Zeiss Debuts New Approach to Cockpit and Cabin Displays

ProSight technology is being demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow

Pro Star Delivers G280 Gogo Galileo Satcom Installation

Expands company’s offerings for high-speed, global connectivity

Starlink Doubles Aviation Prices, Adds Region Boundaries

New service plans distinguish between a single area and global coverage

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HDX antenna installed under the tail-mounted radome

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