The answers to this question list mobile apps that presumably need Internet and are intended for use on small planes. I assume Cessnas and similar planes don't have satellite internet; how do these apps connect? They appear to be mostly used in Europe; do other countries besides the US allow cell phone use on planes?
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2 Answers
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To answer the question how do these apps connect?
I assume Cessnas and similar planes don't have satellite internet;
correct, at least not any of the Pipers/Cessnas I've flown but Cessna does make some stuff much larger than a 172 these days...
that presumably need Internet
This is incorrect, in the US and many other countries now where ADSB-Out is required for aircraft mobile apps can plot traffic as long as they connect to an ADSB-In unit. In the Piper I fly there are 2, the Garmin 650 Nav/Comm and a Sentry, both of which I can connect to my IPad and have it display traffic.
I personally use ForeFlight as my electronic flight bag, but there are others like Garmin Pilot all of which have off-line caching of charts/nav-data/information so that you don't need a connection to render anything. Pre-Loading required charts of an area is part of my preflight. ForeFlight offers both internet and ADSB traffic.
Also of note, while I wouldn't rely on it and it could be an issue to actually use your phone in flight, plenty of GA ops occur low enough to simply receive cell service.
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"I assume Cessnas and similar planes don't have satellite internet"
It's not an issue for small single-engine planes anymore. You can get handheld satellite Wi-Fi hotspots (e.g. Iridium GO!) which work when placed on a glareshield or with a suction-cup windshield antenna.
