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Europa-List: Re: Electrical bonding

Subject: Europa-List: Re: Electrical bonding
From: rampil <ira.rampil@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:49:30

Please allow me to reiterate.

"Bonding" is for transferring triboelectric "static" charge off the aircraft. 
Europa structures are not designed with integral metal mesh, so these
charges are going to sit in localized pockets on the skin of the paint. 
They will not generally penetrate to the actual fiberglass unless the 
paint has pinholes or the collected charge grows to a voltage (compared 
to elsewhere on the plane) high enough to arc through, burning as it goes.

Bonding is not able to safely move the current flow of a lightning strike from
one side of an aircraft to another.  Consider please the typical current flow
usually stated as 10,000 Amps. What gauge wire are you going to loft
which can carry that charge without instantly vaporizing?  Look at the 
posted metal fuselage damage. A puny 18 ga copper wire will explode 
like a stick of dynamite.

There is no proven risk mitigation I am aware of for a Europa class craft
except staying away from strong convective activity.  If you were to redesign
to Airbus technology, the Rotax could not lift you off the ground. You 
might consider Cirrus type technology with a design penalty of only
quadrupling the price, but no extant technology guarantees safety.

Fly Safe!

--------
Ira N224XS


Read this topic online here:

http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=433569#433569



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