What's this

[Caspet]

Hi all.

 

Anyone know what this is? See it in the sim and for real in the cockpit but not from the outside view (I know its not very interesting, im just curious:music_whistling:)

[BlueRidgeDx]

Lightning arrestor strip.

[kylania]

Wow, I always thought that was so that when you looked up and behind you could tell where your centerline was so you wouldn't lose your orientation.

[Schnarre Aggro]

well thats what i use it for :huh:

[Caspet]

Lightning arrestor strip.

 

Ok thanks....emmm, but what's that please?

 

(will Google)

[Caspet]

Ok got it, but why is it not visible from the outside?

[Caspet]

Ah, yes it is :doh:

[Caspet]

Wow, I always thought that was so that when you looked up and behind you could tell where your centerline was so you wouldn't lose your orientation.

 

Subconsciously I probobly use it for that too :smilewink:

[Snoopy]

Ok thanks....emmm, but what's that please?

 

(will Google)

 

It's for Lightining strikes...all it is is aluminum tape witha ground cable attached to the frame of the canopy. nothing special.

[159th_Viper]

....nothing special.

 

:megalol:

 

That's the absolute last thing I would want to hear as a Pilot, knowing that there are several hundred million volts of electricity mere inches from my cranium :D

[sobek]

That's the absolute last thing I would want to hear as a Pilot, knowing that there are several hundred million volts of electricity mere inches from my cranium :D

 

But then pilots probably know jack about electrodynamics. ;)

[159th_Viper]

The number of pilots out there with hardcore engineering degrees would probably blow your mind.

 

As would several hundred million volts :megalol:

 

Yeah I know the theory is sound - it's the leap from theory to practice that is sometimes, well, let's just say.......interesting :D

 

As an aside and apologies for derailing the thread somewhat, but what would the effect be of a lightning-strike on the cockpit, for example......A Big Bang or a Damp Fizzle? Would the Flight Suite's sanctity be violated?

[hog_driver111th]

As noted in an article by USA Today weather editor Jack Williams, lightning strikes on airplanes are not uncommon occurrences, but such events rarely result in disaster due to a number of related safety features:

Lightning regularly strikes airplanes. In fact, as far as anyone knows, the odds are that each airliner in the USA will be hit by lightning once a year. (Obviously some would be hit more than once, some not at all.)

 

But, lightning has not caused an airliner crash in the USA or of a U.S. airline plane anywhere in more than 40 years.

 

Protection begins with the fact that airliners, and the majority of other airplanes, are made of aluminum, which is a very good electrical conductor. A lightning bolt's electricity flows along the airplane's skin and into the air.

 

Lightning protection goes far beyond airplanes being good conductors of electricity, and the last airline crash in the USA blamed on lightning was more than 40 years ago. On December 8, 1962 lightning hit a Pan American Boeing 707 in a holding pattern over Elkton, Md. The lightning caused a spark that ignited fuel vapor in a tank, causing an explosion that brought the plane down, killing all 81 aboard.

 

This led to rules requiring that airplanes have built-in systems that ensure that a spark will not ignite fuel or fuel vapors in tanks or fuel lines.

 

Then, during a 1980s lightning research project, NASA flew an F-106B jet into 1,400 thunderstorms and lightning hit it at least 700 times. The lightning didn't damage the airplane, but the data the jet collected showed that lighting could induce relatively small electrical currents that could damage electronic systems.

 

This led to regulations that require aircraft electrical and electronic systems, as well as fuel tanks and lines, to have built-in lightning protection.