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Lorn's comments about St. Elmo's Fire reminds me of a unique experience I
had penetrating a squall line at night in Florida on the way to Key West in
the spring of 1969.  I was in Navy flight training in a TF-9 Cougar at about
30K ft.  As the controller was guiding us through a three mile hole between
some big cells a ball of SEF began to dance on the nose of the airplane
about 5 feet in front of my face.  It appeared to be about two feet in
diameter and jumped around for about 2 or 3 seconds before it blew right
over my head travelling along the plexiglass canopy and presumably departing
the aircraft somewhere near the tail section.  Pretty cool!  The guy in the
back seat didn't get the view I did, but was impressed none the less.  There
wasn't time to notice whether it effected the radios because it was over in
a flash.  I'd love to have it sparking out my fingers sometime.  That would
really be a trip - like God's Van de Graf generator!!  I've heard a story -
from my dad, I think, of St Elmo's Fire rolling down the aisle of a DC-3.  I
don't remember if it happened to him or someone he knew.

I have been told that should you get a lightning strike on a composite
aircraft (at least a graphite one) the composite is likely to completely
disintegrate into so much broom straw.  I don't think static wicks are going
to do you much good in that event.  Moral of the story - stay away from
T-cells in your plastic Ferrari of the skies.

Regards,

John Barrett
CARBINGE
"The World Hinges On Us"
http://www.olympus.net/personal/2thman/carbinge1.htm


>The purple arc that you are referring to is called "Saint Elmo's
>Fire(corona discharge)". It is a more or less continuous, luminous
>electrical discharge of weak or moderate intensity in the atmosphere,
>emanating from elevated objects at the Earth's surface (lightning
>conductors, wind vanes, masts of ships) or from aircraft in flight
>(wing tips, propellers, etc.).

>I don't think that St. Elmo's Fire is dangerous. I have been in it
>while in a snow storm over NYC in a Piper 180. The radios all stopped
>working. Sparks shot off the ends of our fingers directly to the
>front windows. The propeller glowed. When the snow was gone, so was
>the fire.

>When do you start needing static wicks? My C340A has them. My LNC2
>320 doesn't. I have flown the LNC2 now for 2.5 years and over 200
>hours. I fly on instruments and in clouds. I have not yet had a
>problem. Other small planes, even though certified for instruments,
>don't have static wicks. Other big planes do.



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