Wireless propagation modelling inside a business jet

Abstract

Wireless communication on-board aircraft has recently received increased attention as passengers are demanding for seamless office-like communication environments during their flight. Aircraft manufacturers are also interested in this technology to reduce cable complexity and provide new in-flight services. Various technologies are being considered for this purpose, such as IEEE802.11a/b/g. A radio propagation map is necessary to determine the received signal strengths inside the environment and can be obtained either through accurate modelling or through a measurement campaign. A simulation model is more attractive as it can be used to identify ideal antenna locations that maximize coverage at the design stage. Since the business jet market necessitates customized cabin configurations for each customer this will avoid costly measurement campaigns. This work presents a novel simulation model which has been used to characterize propagation characteristics inside a Dassault Aviation business jet. The developed package is based on geometric optics (GO) and adopts ray tracing techniques. Simulation results were compared with actual measurements performed on-board the aircraft with a good correlation between the two. This study takes into account only a static channel whereby all passengers are seated.