TO WIN THE gold medal in the Olympic Trap shooting in Paris you needed to hit a series of 110mm (4.3 inch) spinning discs flying at 100km/h (63mph) 50 times. If you have ever been clay pigeon shooting, you will know how hard this is. The winner missed two.

Aircraft connectivity providers have a much harder challenge. Satellite beams need to hit a similar size panel on an aircraft. Except the aircraft is travelling 10 times faster than any clay. The distance can be 35,000 kilometres away.

Passengers, of course, do not realise any of this. They just click a mouse or touch a screen to watch videos or reply to emails. Being connected in the air is now as basic an expectation as having a good coffee.

The good news is that aircraft owners have never had so many options. But choosing is not simple. Unfortunately, connectivity is an area where abbreviations multiply. Even many experienced business aviation operators do not know the difference between Ka-band or Ku-band or what a LEO or GEO network is. On top of that there are lots of different brands – with antennae providers often having different brands.

The aim of this first Official Guide to Aircraft Connectivity is to help demystify the options for owners and their advisers. Choosing the right connectivity solution is not just going to make flights more profitable and enjoyable. It will also affect how popular the aircraft will be if it is made available for charter and affect how quickly it sells.

We hope this guide is a helpful resource and a trusted partner as you navigate the choices on offer. Making the right choice the first time saves downtime and costs. If you have invested in an aircraft, you would be mad to not invest in connectivity.

Of course, nothing works perfectly all of the time so if you have a short service interruption when flying, it is worth remembering that the Olympic record in the men’s trap event is still only 48 out of 50.