Airborne Internet Flight Tests

Two aircraft network relay to/from ground station

Important proof-of-concept flight tests were conducted at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical
Center, in late July 2006, using the system developed by PMEI. These critical tests successfully
demonstrated a “beyond line-of-sight” relay capability, where data communications took place at a
distance greater than the curvature of the earth normally allows for direct line-of-sight radio
communications. This capability was achieved by establishing network connectivity between a
distant aircraft, an intermediate-placed aircraft, and a ground station.
The Airborne Internet project was the first to conduct flight tests in the FAA Technical Center’s
Bombardier Global 5000 Business Jet. The “flying laboratory” was equipped with multiple
Airborne Internet capabilities. Two aircraft, a ground station and ground-based communication
support networks were used in the flight tests. The project engineers successfully relayed messages
and simulated 4-dimensional flight planning information from one aircraft to another, and then to
the ground station, over an extended airborne network. In fact, an e-mail message was successfully
sent to 172 people during one of the flight tests, from 140 miles out over the ocean.
As of Jul 2006, this was the first-ever civil aviation (non-military) successful proof-of-concept
flight test of this kind, conducted in the world.
Airborne Internet technology offered potential solid support for the FAA’s NexGen air traffic
management system, which required implementation of 4-dimensional trajectory flight planning.
The Airborne Internet technology has strong potential to enhance future oceanic communications,
resolving communications and location problems currently faced in the oceanic environment.
Next, the FAA Airborne Internet program conducted flight testing of its early Airborne Internet
systems by testing both system capabilities simultaneously. The flight tests increased with
complexity, and utilized multiple aircraft as network nodes and multiple ground stations. Ground
stations were located in Bethesda MD and the FAA William J Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic
City N.J. The FAA collected data for each system during these flights which proved that both the
low bandwidth PMEI and high bandwidth Aerosat systems were viable and ready for operational
commercialization.