When? Care for a tag along?

 

i read this re :

Static electricity is created when negatively charged electrons from one object are transferred to another. This electron imbalance causes the object losing electrons to become positively charged while the other becomes negatively charged. The transfer of electrons is often aided by friction when two objects rub together, such as rubbing a balloon against your hair that causes hair to stand up. The same effect occurs on an aircraft due to the friction against the plane as it moves through the air. This friction strips electrons from the atmosphere and causes them to build up on the skin of the aircraft.

The static charges that build up on an aircraft during flight tend to accumulate near sharp edges like the trailing edges of wings and tail surfaces. The purpose of static wicks is to provide a conductive path for these excess electrons to flow or "leak" from the aircraft back into the atmosphere. The wicks are composed of hundreds of individual carbon fibers wrapped into a cylinder around three to eight inches long and about the diameter of a soda straw. Each fiber ends in a sharp point to attract the static charge and encourage the electrons to flow off the aircraft and back into the atmosphere.

id imagine there would be a ark as the hook comes in contact do those hooks need replacing after a land

My jerry can holders will be grounded by the tire carrier hope i wont need a bonding jumper to the can

 

The static wicks you describe are utterly useless in a ground-effect hover at 100% rotor RPM, like occurs when hovering over an artillery piece, vehicle, or pallet load, ready to be sling loaded. Before the ground troops can affix what is being transported to the sling/pendant they have to ground it first. The shepard's hook has an insulated handle, preventing shock to the user. Once the pendant is grounded, it can be handled by the troops and the job gets done.

 

In a past life I might have worked on pretty much all USAF helicopters: -3s, -43s, -53s, all Hueys, both single and twin engine. We also had Rescue C-130s, Ps, Hs and Ns. That was before I began my flying career in USAF.

 

I know that when I was at basic survival training (Fairchild) and water survival training (Homestead) to go onto flying status we had to be picked up by helo's a couple times. Of course, in a survival situation you won't have any ground wires/sheppard's hooks handy. So we were taught to ensure that the winch cable was dragged on the ground or in the water before we touched it.

 

IM guessing in 2017 or 18. when my oldest is settled away in university!

 

i was thinking why dont they design it to shed off the static with something before it even gets close to ground? i mean they can refuel in the sky and there must be something that does this or it would ignite, unless the pressure cant be built up with the altitude ? or the tube is isolated from the aircraft itself

btw : how many volts do these aircrafts typically build up . The picture of the hook looks similar to a hot stick a lineman uses with 13,800 volts ( kinda a cool job grounding them as they get close) hazzard pay right

 

Yep. We did the same. Drop the basket, drag it through the water to the person being picked up. Doing a SPIE rig, drag the rig across the ground to the troops to be slung.

 

Proximity of the rotor tips to the airframe prevent this in a hover.

 

I will try to get you some pictures this week. Can you pm me an email address?