Jox,
Many thanks for your post!
I still remain with my two questions.
* Is there any real perceived requirement for transmission of these huge volumes of data in real time, when those same data can be downloaded from the QAR after the aircraft has landed?
(I'm not talking about some time-critical maintenance and performance data, mentioned earlier, which constitute only a small subset of the total data stream going into the FDR and QAR).
* How likely is it, that after a major event/upset the real-time data link to the satellite will remain fully intact until the final second?
FDR and CVR at least will stay with the aircraft until the bitter end.
CJ