Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 16

TECH SPOTL IGHT

A close up
of Gogo's
AVANCE L5.
GOGO INC.

all five fundamental areas of aircraft connectivity and entertainment. That's productivity. It's efficiency, confidence, control and
performance," Salvador said.
Gogo AVANCE has two versions, the L3 and L5. The L3 is customizable with three service options available and offers a 3G experience, and the L5 offers 4G speed and bandwidth. Salvador noted that
ANVANCE includes Gogo Vision built in, an entertainment option
in business aviation delivering the latest Hollywood releases and
TV episodes, among other media options, and is updated remotely
when the aircraft is on the ground with content stored in the system
onboard, leaving bandwith free while inflight.

The Installation Process
While the Wi-Fi options an aircraft owner has to choose from are
varied, installation is more straightforward - coming down to
two factors - the size of the aircraft and the weight it can handle.
"Smaller aircraft will make use of smaller antennas - often
called puck antennas as they are about the size of a hockey puck and
deliver basic coms services through L-band connectivity. Super-mid
to large-size and executive airliners will have the option to have
a Ka-band option, whereas mid-size will most likely benefit from
Ku-band options," said Moore.
Salvador said their antennas and the onboard equipment are
smaller and lighter than most satellite solutions.
Wi-Fi systems aboard a jet are made up of three components, an
antenna, router and airtime. The antenna is responsible for transmitting and receiving the data from the satellite or ATG system and
the router is responsible for distributing the data received to the
onboard devices. Airtime is then activated when those two initial
installations have occurred. With the antenna is also the modem.
"[For satellites] the antenna goes up in the empennage, typically
up in the T-tail, then the power supply and the modem get located
usually in the avionics equipment bay, which does not have to be
inside the pressure vessel," Person said. "For example, in a super
mid-size business jet aft equipment bay, we can put it back there
and that's all it takes. The goal is to make it as simple and seamless as possible."
Peterson notes that depending on the system an operator
chooses, the hardware and installation will be different and with
that so will the cost. Faster satellite systems like a Ka or Ku can

16

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020	

cost as much as $600,000 whereas L Band systems can be half
that. However, Person said Viasat's Ku-band pricing is competitive
with L Band system costs, and its Ka-band system offers the most
capacity at competitive rates.
"The hardware differs - and that is one of the areas where the
decision for the operator is complex - and it's extremely important
they get it right and they balance it all out. So whether you choose
a Ka system or a Ku system, which are your satellite based systems
that have large tail mount antenna, or an L band system, which
you could be a fuselage mount system or a tail mount antenna
system, they have costs associated with them. And some of those
costs can be, for some operators, quite high relative to the value it
provides," said Peterson.
"A big part of the consideration for which system to install is
cost, and that is one of the biggest differentiators between ATG
and satellite," Salvador added. "ATG is a fraction of the cost of
most satellite solutions of comparable performance, including the
upfront cost of the hardware, the installation, and then the ongoing service plans."
For ATG systems, the antennas are mounted on the belly of the
aircraft and Gogo offers different configurations depending on the
system chosen. Installation costs for ATG systems are typically less
expensive than for satellite; for example, to help streamline the
hardware and installation costs, Salvador said that Gogo purposely
designed the AVANCE systems to have similar configurations.
"As an example, with the AVANCE L3, because we carried that 3G
network forward, we utilize the same air-to-ground antennas that
go on the bottom of the aircraft as the legacy ATG 4000 and 5000
systems. So, someone that wanted to upgrade into the AVANCE
platform doesn't need to change those antennas that are already
on the aircraft. The systems are made up of a single LRU, which in
the case of AVANCE L3 is similar to size to the classic air-to-ground
LRU," Salvador explained.
Salvador added it's important to note that installation on a business aircraft is a complicated process and requires a ton of expertise,
engineering, certifications, and more.
"Our authorized, Gogo trained, dealer network and OEM partners are a critical part of our business. All of our products are only
available through this authorized network for professional installation and activation to ensure the highest quality experience for
our mutual customers," he continued.
For operators whose plane is not equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities, but are looking to make the leap, installation of a system will
almost always involves removing interior pieces of the aircraft and
it's recommended to have a Wi-Fi system installed at the same time
as other avionics or interior work for that reason. On the maintenance side, systems will generally only require a visual check, at
most, with software updates being the most maintenance heavy
operations a system will undergo during its lifetime.
"We build our products with reliability and longevity in mind.
Once a healthy installation is complete, there are very few times
you ever have to go back and touch an installation, unless there may
be a software update or something along those lines. That may be

AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY



Aircraft Maintenance Technology

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aircraft Maintenance Technology

A Place for Everything
The Wide World of Wi-Fi
Aftermarket Post COVID
Flying Colours' Flight Path
Precision Tools for Precise Jobs
What Aviation Maintenance Training Looks Like in a Pandemic
It Will Get Worse
Editor's Takeoff: From Toy Boxes to Toolboxes
Professionalism: The New Face of Safety and Service
GAMA Insight: Embracing Remote and Virtual Assist Technologies
Industry Inspection
Advertiser's Index
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 1
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 2
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 3
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - Editor's Takeoff: From Toy Boxes to Toolboxes
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 5
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 6
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 7
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - Industry Inspection
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 9
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - A Place for Everything
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 11
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 12
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 13
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - The Wide World of Wi-Fi
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 15
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 16
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 17
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - Aftermarket Post COVID
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 19
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 20
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 21
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - Flying Colours' Flight Path
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 23
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 24
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 25
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 26
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 27
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - Precision Tools for Precise Jobs
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 29
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 30
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 31
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 32
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 33
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 34
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 35
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - What Aviation Maintenance Training Looks Like in a Pandemic
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 37
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 38
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 39
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 40
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 41
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - It Will Get Worse
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 43
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 44
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 45
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - Professionalism: The New Face of Safety and Service
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 47
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - GAMA Insight: Embracing Remote and Virtual Assist Technologies
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - Advertiser's Index
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 50
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 51
Aircraft Maintenance Technology - 52
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