Ralf,
I agree with Jeff.
Shortly after new paint I flew into Sedona. I was IMC for about an hour. When I got out of the airplane, I walked along the leading edge there were pits to carbon every 8-9 inches. As I reached to touch the pits there was an arc of electricity that got my attention. Of course my static wicks were home in a package.
This was an expensive lesson. I never, ever fly without static wicks. And I have not had a problem since.
Craig Gainza
> To: lml@lancaironline.net
> Date: Sat, 2 Jul 2011 23:34:10 -0400
> From: vtailjeff@aol.com
> Subject: [LML] Re: Paint damage IFR
>
> Ralf
>
> That is static discharge pinhole. Put static wicks on and make certain they are grounded.
>
> Jeff
>
> AvSafe
> Jeff Edwards
> 314.308.6719 mobile
> 636.532.5638 office
> Jeff.edwards@avsafe.com
>
> On Jul 2, 2011, at 12:23 AM, <bronnenmeier@GROBSYSTEMS.COM> wrote:
>
> >
> > Dear subscribers,
> >
> > I followed the leading edge tape discussion that we had a few weeks ago.
> > At that point I decided not to put leading edge tape on my wings
> > (because of the estimated speed loss of up to 10Kts).
> >
> > Last week I got into IMC at 19.000 ft. It was like high clouds, almost
> > like thick mist with no precipitation in it (temp around -5C, no
> > indication of ice). I was in there for approx. 45 min. My TAS was
> > approx. 245 - 250 kts (lean of peak).
> >
> > It was dark, I was hand flying the plane (I am still working on the AP),
> > monitoring all the gages (it has been flying for approx. 40 hrs now - I
> > am kind of still sitting on the fence), talking to ATC and I never had
> > the plane at a higher altitude before. So not knowing how stable the
> > plane would be if I added another two or four thousand ft altitude I did
> > not want to add another unknown variable and decided to just sit and
> > wait.
> >
> > On the ground again I noticed that I got little electric shocks when I
> > touched the leading edge of the wing (I don't have static wicks). When I
> > wiped off the bugs the next day I noticed some little nicks in my paint
> > (metallic base coat with clear coat on top) on the leading edge of the
> > wing I touched the night before. It is not that bad but I think I should
> > change my behavior in order to not make it worse.
> >
> > Question: are there any rules for speed/altitude for IMC/rain that make
> > it easier on the plane (paint)?
> >
> > Thanks for your input
> >
> > Ralf
> >
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