Sat phones

[Hoveronly]

Does anyone use the Thuraya or Iridium sat phone in the aircraft as an operations tool? Comments on either, cost, clarity and usefullness?

[Gerund]

I have used a Thuraya phone as an operations tool, calling in arrival and expected departure times at enroute airfields. I was flying a Beechcraft 1900 and attempts to use it in-flight were unsuccessful due to 'no clear sky'. It was sometimes possible to get a 'lock on' by leaning the aerial against a side window, but in trying to place a call, the signal was invariably lost. I did once connect to operations in flight when we really needed to get hold of them.... it took about half an hour of squashing my head against the side window and moving the phone into impossible positions. When they answered I couldn't hear them clearly enough over the noise of the engines, even on full volume, and within seconds signal was lost. I had to give up! Getting reliable signals on a satellite phone can be a bit hit or miss at the best of times, out in the open, particulary if the sky is heavily overcast. In the confines of an aircraft I would suggest it is not a workable option. This presupposes no external antenna is fitted and the phone is used as a 'hand-held'. There may be some external antenna options, but I have never come across them.

It will be interesting to hear the experience of others.

For those unfamiliar with sat phones, you can often spot a user as he is usually bent over at the waist, slowly rotating to start with, and seems to be inspecting something interesting on the ground. This is because the best signal is obtained when the aerial is pointing AT the satellite and, for some reason, the phone manufacturers don't take this into account when they design the phones - even though they are at pains to point it out in the manual! :-)

[south coast]

yes gerund...we have them on our planes now, but they are fiitted by the manufacturer, so with external antenna and they work just fine.

basically like the sat phones you see on board for pax, except without the credit card payment feature.

[Phenomenon]

I've used it on the ground in the field to order a pizza from homebase...

Work very well but needless to say the company wasn't impressed! ;)

[Gerund]

south coast! I hope all is well with you, you scoundrel. Interesting to hear there is a manufacturer's installation available, with external antenna. How does the installation work exactly? Does it have a unit on the radio stack or between seats console and is selected by a switch on the radio selector panel, or is it a bit more basic and has a cable you plug into the phone?

[iakobos]

For "cheap" onboard satphone installations,
> Iridium: check SatTalk II
> Thuraya: check AirSat

For technical (re. fast moving object) and coverage reasons, Iridium is the preferred system.

[south coast]

gerund me ol' mukka...

no, it is factory fitted, a seperate entity. you take your headphones off, dial the number you wish to call and then use it like a normal phone.

you know you have them on saa 747-400's for each seat, that kind of style just without the bit for swiping your credit card.

i think it is pretty expensive thoughbt to use it...