Aviation Connectivity Is Topic of Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association Quarterly Lunch Program

By Carmelo Turdo 

The Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association (GSLBAA) held their quarterly luncheon Friday at West Star Aviation, St. Louis Regional Airport. The event was a great way to visit with members and learn about new products and services from the industry exhibitors and the featured expert guest speaker. The food was also an excellent reason to attend!

The lunch program was held in the West Star Aviation Academy (WSAA) hangar. WSAA is West Star's seven and a half month, full-time, paid apprenticeship program for airframe mechanics in cooperation with Southwestern Illinois College and Choose Aerospace. Brian Bauwens, West Star Aviation General Manager, gave an update on the program that was first featured in our airport profile story in January. The second class of 25 students is underway, and the future for the graduates is bright in the aerospace industry. The work benches, Falcon 10 and Hughes 269A used in the course are shown here.

GSLBAA President, Tom Buffington, introduced the keynote speaker for the lunch program, Jim Huntoon, the Director of Fleet & MRO Partnerships at Viasat Business Aviation Connectivity. Huntoon began his primer on aviation connectivity by recalling the promise of an "office in the sky." While that was not literally possible twenty years ago, it is today. Connectivity expectations have increased exponentially over the years, both in the cabin and in the cockpit, and providing seamless service over long distances is now the starting point. 

Network providers have to navigate the spectrums of available services, from classic Satcom to the paradigm-changing Starlink network. The aviation sector is still a small portion of the provider business portfolios, and so the options must be weighted carefully before the installation process begins. Some systems have already undergone significant upgrades that may not be compatible with their legacy systems. Some services have adopted the Ka-Band microwave systems over the Ku-Band, while others, like SmartSky, have ceased providing airborne connectivity services entirely.

"People today that are buying an aircraft in the next twelve months are having to make a decision - what do we put on it?" Huntoon said as he concluded his survey of available architectures and networks. "That's a tough call. There are good systems, there are systems that need to be upgraded...The companies are investing in solutions to try to make it easier for operators to not have to rip out an entire system and completely replace it." 

There are good options, and the one to choose comes down to the aircraft operator's fleet needs and provider relationships that will remain over a long-term investment period. Huntoon believes that a consistent user experience will prevail among the major service providers who will achieve efficiencies and price stabilization in the coming years.   

Following the presentation, Jim Huntoon was given a token of appreciation by GSLBAA President, Tom Buffington.

The Aero Experience thanks GSLBAA, West Star, keynote speaker Jim Huntoon, the exhibitors and attendees for making this quarterly luncheon a great event. Check the GSLBAA website for future events and membership information.