Aluminum Body and Lightening
Aluminum wiring was band many years ago because it can cause house fires when arching. This is what happened when lightening hit an aluminum body Ford pickup. :E Clicky
Forum Discussion
Chum lee wrote:
Not to hijack the thread, but, out of interest: (I'm a pilot)
What did the tech recommend as a repair?
A. Replace the blade
B. Repair the blade
C. Nothing
D. Other (please specify)
How was the blade fabricated? (material)
Thanks,
Chum lee
It was "many years ago" as I said - think mid 80's so my memory of the blade construction is gone but it was a composite, hollow blade and in many cases the techs placed Black Duct tape, (yes you read that right), along the leading edges to protect them from small debris damage when we were close to the ground. The techs did nothing as the basic integrity of the blade was intact and the blisters were only slightly raised from the surface. A "green line"* was written in the log book so future crews would be aware and check on it before and after flights as would the techs.
* A green line in the RAF is an entry in the logbook "faults" page that is highlighted in green. This means that it has the potential to affect operation of the aircraft but it is not likely. The pilot signs the log and part of what he is signing for is that he is aware of any green or red line entries and accepts them. We would often take airframes with as many as a dozen green lines and even the occasional red line though they were more likely to be fixed prior to the aircraft being designated serviceable.
Hope that helps
