What are these antenna-like protrusions for on an airliner?

Question

This is a JetBlue A320:

I've always wondered what these are for, but could never find the answer. I'm guessing a few of them are for receiving information from satellites.

Labeled them in numbers so you can describe what each one of them is for. Yeah I finally figured out how to get images from google drawings onto my question :) — Ethan, Oct 02 '15 at 00:51

aeroalias · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-02T05:12:02.837

31

They are the various communication and navigation antennas of the aircraft. This figure shows the location of antennas in A320, the type of aircraft in picture.

Source: pprune.org

Some antenna (the ones with *) are optional and the installation varies with customer. The communication antenna location in A320 can be seen in this image.

Image from airbus training course from airbus.altervista.org

And the navigation antenna location in this one:

Image from airbus training course from airbus.altervista.org

The dome (2 in the picture) is the radome for the wi-fi system introduced by Jetblue, dubbed Fly-Fi.

Source: nycaviation.com

So,

1,3,4 - VHF
2 - Wifi
6 - ELT

edited Oct 02 '15 at 05:12

answered Oct 02 '15 at 01:40

aeroalias

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2

Actually 2 is probably the DirectTV antenna... maybe coupled with Wi-Fi – slookabill Oct 02 '15 at 02:15
1

@slookabill Maybe. It has WiFi allright. See the vox article on this – aeroalias Oct 02 '15 at 02:20
8

Why call it Fly-Wi when they could have easily called it Wi-Fly... – user253751 Oct 02 '15 at 05:09
2

@immibis Apparently it is called Fly-Fi. Sorry for the mistake, though I'm in no position to answer why they came up with that name :) – aeroalias Oct 02 '15 at 05:13
1

Just a guess, but Wi-Fly might already be trademarked by a competitor. – Dan Hulme Oct 02 '15 at 07:08
14

@DanHulme - wi-fly is full of connotations negative for the bottom line. Rejected by marketing. – Deer Hunter Oct 02 '15 at 07:18
11

"Wi-fly? Because now there's Fly-Fi, your Fly-Wi solution for WiFi while you fly." – Todd Wilcox Oct 02 '15 at 13:24
4

@ToddWilcox, don't give up your day job for a marketing career ;) – Jon Story Oct 02 '15 at 14:38
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looooooooooooooooooooooool – Lightness Races in Orbit Oct 02 '15 at 14:59
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I find it interesting that they list TCAS and GPS as optional... – reirab Oct 02 '15 at 16:40
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How much drag (and, consequently, extra fuel consumption and emissions) does the Fly-Fi add? – Mar 12 '19 at 21:13
@reirab: Along with the HF, ELT, and SATCOM antennae. – Vikki Dec 30 '19 at 01:59
@sampablokuper Please ask that as a new question rather than asking in the comments. – reirab Dec 30 '19 at 05:47
@Sean The ELT being optional is for MH. – reirab Dec 30 '19 at 05:48
@reirab: MH? Malaysia Airlines? – Vikki Dec 31 '19 at 00:12

What are these antenna-like protrusions for on an airliner?

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