There are a lot of questions if StarLink might be the next solution for real in flight Internet. With their low hardware and subscription prices for residential satellite internet the thought is very tempting. Now the first details are available on their aviation product and unfortunately it will not be suitable for smaller GA aircraft.

Antenna dimensions and price

The antenna is going to be huge and expensive. The new reports suggest a purchase price of 150.000 USD and the picture suggest an antenna the size of a square pizza box. It will take a large jet to accommodate that kind of hardware. For copyright reasons the pictures are not reproduced here but you can have a look yourself:
Starlink Aviation
PC MAG

Subscription price

The subscription is supposed to be crazy expensive. The news reports suggest 12.500 USD per month or more. Unfortunately SpaceX charges what they think they can so you end up paying many times the amount charged for residential service while using the same bandwidth. Already for RV and boating the prices have increased far beyond the initial residential pricing. As usual aviation prices go even far beyond that level.

Summary: StarLink for aviation is coming. But it will not be an option for GA aircraft, except the very top end jets, due to antenna dimensions and cost.