Check it out:



Cant quite tell what plane it is, I'm guessing an old 707, Twin engine Airbus, or a 767. Either way pretty cool looking.

What's even more incredible is that the plane was likely unaffected by acting as a giant resistor.

Why? Since it wasn't grounded?

Since the outer skin of most airplanes is primarily aluminum, which is a very good conductor of electricity; the secret to safe lightning hits is to allow the current to flow through the skin from the point of impact to some other point without interruption or diversion to the interior of the aircraft.

Aircraft, and by that I mean the body of the aircraft and not the occupants inside, are protected from lightning strikes by two things. The first and most important of these is the brains of the pilot and the weathermen who predict where violent storms are likely to be. The second is through a small unsung device called the "static wick".

Most aircraft do not fly into lightning storms, or fly through storms or areas where lightning is likely to be present. What we see as lightning is really a massive flood of electrons seeking equilibrium, either from cloud-cloud or from cloud-ground. In both cases, huge amounts of electric charge build up at the edges of the cloud. The electricity finds it's way from one place to the other via what's called a "step leader".

The sheer power of the cloud will start to attract electrons from the ground. These electrons will gather on anything that gathers charge (like a fence) or sticks up in the air (like a person), or that does both (like a telephone pole). That electric charge will start to work it's way through the air, ionizing it, until the leader working it's way down, and the leader trying to get up finally meet. When they do - there's lightning. An aircraft flying between the highly charged portions of a cloud will act as a conduit for step leaders, being able to produce one in each direction. If either of them meets a leader coming the other way... ZAP!!!

The way an aircraft tries to dissipate these step leaders is through the use of something called a "static wick". A static wick is a piece of metal connected electrically to the frame of the aircraft, with one or two spikes or needles on the end. It is housed in a fiberglass rod to insulate it from the airplane. Because the spikes concentrate the electric charge around them, and they are connected to the airframe, they allow the airplane to dissipate any static electricity it may build up out into the air. Also - if lightning DOES strike the plane, the chances are that the electricity will go through the dissipator and not through the airplane.

So, when discussing how an airplane is protected from a lightning strike, the best safety feature is the pilot who checks the weather before he flies and makes smart decisions about where to fly. If the plane is forced to fly through a storm, the static wicks on the wing's trailing edges should help keep the plane safe and guide the electricity with the skin of the airplane acting as a giant resistor.

Here's a reference link from a USA Today article: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resourc ... anes_x.htm

Another reference for lightning (last page of the article with common misconceptions): http://science.howstuffworks.com/lightning11.htm

And a cool pic of some ground-to-cloud lightning (HowStuffWorks article):

Whoa!

Cool picture though

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that Apollo 12 was struck by lightning as it lifted off. They lost their computers but they quickly came back online. Scary stuff though, they were about 5 seconds from aborting and using the escape rockets.

Happy Flying!
SuperBugz

Speaking of Apollo, did anybody see Apollo 13 last friday? I love that movie. It made me go right to my PC and play Orbiter 2006. Too bad I don't know how to fly the Apollo ship... But I did try! Yes I think Apollo 12 did get struck, cant confirm it though. Your not the first person Ive heard that from.

Google is always two clicks away!

Confirmed!

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/sp ... 0140.shtml

http://www.space.com/news/apollo12_blastoff_991112.html

LD

Ive seen that video before.. Stll neat to see and then the shuttle picture.. That was cool.. Ive never seen that... Still very neat..

A gentleman is mentioned in the first article by the name of John Aaron. If you watched Apollo 13, Mr. Aaron is the man who, along with Ken Mattingly (portrayed by Gary Sinese (LT. Dan in Forrest Gump)) figured out how to power back up the command module. If that guy was in the military, he probably would have recieved the Congressional Medal of Honor, for theoretically saving 6 astronaut's lives. One thing you will notice about all NASA people is that they are some of the smartest people alive, and are all good people.

Several of the aeroplanes I have flown have been struck by lightning. Usually the only damage is to the pilots underwear, (KaaaaF*****gboom!!!!!) and a few scorch marks on the paint. Occasionally there are little holes left which need to be patched, but not always.

I'm terrified of lightning when ever I fly. It's amazing how something as skinny as your thumb can cause so much damage!

But it doesn't cause much damage. Thats the point.

Impressive? Yes. Deadly to modern aeroplanes? I can't think of one example.

Yeah, but its friggin electricity bolts striking out of the sky!!!! Just a little bit freaky to me. I hope I never get struck. Closest I've been to one was a strike in my backyard. I was out of cable for 2 days, along with internet. I think thats what ruined it for me