Static Wicks

I don't know if this is the correct forum, but I am contemplating the installation of static discharge wicks on the -10 we are building. I have them on the current plane I am flying as they were necessary solution to reduce the BFG stormscope static interference. Has anyone installed them and what drove the installation?
I hate to hang anything on that is unnecessary.

I know that Mouser is putting wicks on his 10. I'm sure he can give you all the reasons that he went down that path.

But from the reading up that I've done on the, it seems that it's most important to have a good grounding strap between your control surfaces and main structure as charges build up on the trailing pointed surfaces.

So on my 10, I'm going to make sure everything is well grounded, and if once I'm flying I have static related problems, go back and add wicks then (even though it will be a bit harder with the plane built).

I am, indeed, putting mount points into my -10 for static wicks. I figured it wasn't too much added effort to add some nutplates for them during the build. If they make no difference, I'll just take the wicks off for an extra 0.25 knots.

I had read enough reports of people saying they had radio or electronics noise issues during IFR flight until they added wicks, the cost is reasonably low, effort low, high possible payoff, and the penalty if they end up not doing anything is essentially nothing.

Here's my rudder install: http://www.mouser.org/projects/rv-10/rudderwicks.html

I haven't done a specific writeup for my elevators or wings yet.

Hope that helps,
-Mouser


UPDATE: I modified my page to show the mods I made to the elevators and ailerons as well. Wingtips TBD; haven't quite gotten to them yet. http://mouser.org/projects/rv-10/staticwicks.html

Static wicks

Had static wicks on a certified airplane I used to have. Prior owner installed them due to flying IFR in their area of dry country that was rich with static electricity due to scattered regular thunderstorms. Control surfaces were bonded with braded flat wires. I never noticed any static sparks when grounding at fuel-ups.

Unfortunately, I have already assembled all of the parts. So I will look tonight to see how I may install. In my current plane I had an issue one time when IFR in the clouds where I completely lost both comms. That's when the wicks were installed, never had the issue again.

Bill.Peyton said:

Unfortunately, I have already assembled all of the parts. So I will look tonight to see how I may install. In my current plane I had an issue one time when IFR in the clouds where I completely lost both comms. That's when the wicks were installed, never had the issue again.

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On transport category aircraft they are installed with conductive cement made for that purpose. That way they have a good electrical bond and won't corrode the skin where they are attached.

Conductive cement

Conductive cement sounds much better than rivits.

No sense putting more than the already 20,000 plus holes in the RV.

Where would one purchase conductive cement? How would they be replaced if required when they have been cemented on?

Conductive Cement

Bill.Peyton said:

Where would one purchase conductive cement? How would they be replaced if required when they have been cemented on?

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When I worked for a corporate flight department we used to buy it along with static wicks from Dayton-Granger the static wick maker. I'm sure we paid big airplane prices for it though. Do a google search for silver conductive epoxy and you can find many suppliers. We used a heat gun to soften it to remove the base then sanded off what is left. A regular inspection item is to megger them and check the bond. Low conductivity and they get re-done.

You can't apply these on top of paint and expect them to work as it has to be metal to metal contact. For a sucessful end result, everything that moves such as flaps and ailerons must also be bonded to the rest of the aircraft with bonding wires. On the large aircraft we also painted all composites with a conductive primer before paint. All this may be overkill for slow speed (relatively) aircraft.

As a side note, windshields with a plastic outer layer such as the Bombardier Challenger series can build up a huge static charge in flight. To clean the windshield after flight requires you run some water over it first to kill the charge. I've seen a line guy get knocked off a ladder with a 1 inch spark to his hand. He refuses to get near them things anymore,

I did find some. I will probably cement the elevator and vert. I can still get to the wings. Thanks for the feedback.