This is an awesome post laying out everything needed for Starlink! I have talked with a number of flight schools and pilots about their Starlink installation experiences, and most of them find the existing kits (like the ones pictured above) very complicated and hard to install. There is a company called Aria Aerospace that makes a window-mounted kit specifically for the Cirrus back window that is fantastic. It uses suction cups, which some people complain about, but the Aria company uses the special RAM aviation mounts that work super well. Amazingly easy to install, and their service is phenomenal. Never heard any complaints about them.
AFAIK all suction cups damage the windows, especially in the summer. I would not risk it, because changing that window is expensive, can damaga the paint etc.
The caution around older suction cups is 100% warranted; in the past, they either fell off after 10,000 ft. or damaged windows and paint with sticky residue.
These particular RAM mounts used in the Aria Aerospace mount are a bit different. They are specific for aircraft use, and their geometry is such that it holds even at altitude, and they don’t use any of the adhesives or chemicals that killed windows in the past. I’ve been running them for over a year now with no marks or issues at all.
I’ll certainly keep an eye on them long term, but so far they’ve been solid; it looks like some of the usual problems with suction cups have been engineered out.
I have never seen those mounts you are referring to. But IF those mounts support the weight of the antenna by hanging from the rear window they should be avoided. The window is simply glued into place to the fuselage. Even without extra weight on them they can debond. Add 2.5 lbs hanging on that window in turbulence it will eventually pull the window out of its glued mount.
That’s not hype, I’ve found loose windows that had nothing hanging from them. It’s only a matter of time. Best of luck whatever you do.
I’ve now sent out many Bradket mounts for the Starlink Mini in the SR, and one feature I love is being able to continue to put the back shade in just above the mount without having to monkey with it at all.
I’ve had mine in for nearly six months now, and since is tight against the back baggage wall there’s no need to remove it as it doesn’t get in the way of anything. Nothing against other designs, but I’m still just a bit leery of any suction cups that remain on the windows of an aircraft for any length of time, given all the anecdotal evidence here on COPA threads and in conversations.
Data source? I doubt that even Cirrus has numbers since most are out of warranty and they are fixed in shops at the owners expense. 1% failure on new planes would be alarming but I assure more windows are loose than you suggest. I agree UV could play a role since the adhesive would be attacked by it. As a person that has found several that never had any weight on it I am skeptical.
I just installed mine with the Bradket (thanks @cj1 and @bppilot) and took my first flight with it today. Worked flawlessly and like CJ said, being able to put up the shade between the glass and the Starlink when parked is a plus. Much prefer not risking damage to the window, even if the odds are low.
Erik, do you know if you still have to buy the antenna with the Roam 50GB plan and then (before setup/activation of the antenna) cancel it and subscribe to Local Priority Or from the beginning it can already be purchased with Local Priority?
I am not 100% sure on the starlink purchase side. Maybe others can confirm??? From a resent purchase?
But you can 100% certain confirm that a purchase from Walmart or BestBuy will allow you to do it upon activation.
So worst case, if you purchase from starlink and cannot (you may be able to still, not confirmed by me) you can 1000% “upgrade” to global priority for 1 month ($250) and downgrade to local the following month.
In the quest of using my Starlink with a USBC cable…. I bought the OEM Starlink USB-C cable (pics attached) and tried it with my Ecoflow River 2….. it doesn’t work (it doesneven show a power “pull” in the display…. This is really strange…
It works well with the 120V coverter and cable….
Will try another battery just to double check…. But ots weird is allthat finicky.
USB-C PD (Power Delievery) has various versions and implementations.
100watts/5amps was a later implemetnion that first gen devices are not capable of producting.
This is one of the same issues with the Stock USB-C ports in the Cirrus in some cases only being able to produce 60watts.
There are other issues out there as well with USB-C-PD that are related to “eco” modes of the Power supplies.
Some Power supplies act funny and as it sees reduced draw, it will change the voltage/amps it will provide casuing devices like starlink to reboot or not work consistantly or at all.
The failure more is to fail “Safe” and default to standard USB-A power rates of 5V @ 1.5 amps.
That may charge a cellphone or ipad slowly, but will not power the Starlink mini.
The trick is to get the right Cable and Power supply to get the USB-C cables to work. This is hard with everchanging stock levels and list of Amazon items.
For these reasons I have always recomended a straight DC conneciton as primary. When using a Batter pack like the EcoFlow 2 or any unit with muliple output options you should go in the following order to prevent headaches:
It’s a matter of finding the right combo of battery and cable/adapter. My guess is the following adapter would work with the EF River 2, but no guarantees:
With the River 2, I highly recommend the following - it’s a straight DC cable, no circuitry:
It looks like it will given it can supply 100watts (20v @ 5amps):
my G2 has had it resealed twice now… The last time was by Barker. Seems to be good now.
