Lightning Strike
 

Here's some pics of the top of the vertical stab of my RV-8A that I took with my cellphone camera yesterday evening. I flew the airplane from Kansas City out to Virginia to spend the 4th of July weekend with my inlaws and left it tied down on the ramp at Blacksburg/VA Tech airport (KBCB). When I did the preflight inspection to depart Blacksburg on Tues morning, I noticed a black lump up on the tail and thought it was a bird dropping. Blasted featherdusters, why do they have to poop on my airplane? Anyway I figured I would clean it off later. Got in the airplane and started it up, and discovered that the alternator was offline. I thought this was odd since it was working fine when I shut down a few days earlier. Cycled the breaker and Alt field switch with no luck. Since I have dual batteries on board I elected to make a 1 hour flight down to where my parents live in NC, just south of Charlotte (JAARS Townsend field, N52), where I knew I could get tools and help to troubleshoot the alternator problem. Upon arrival I borrowed a voltmeter and figured out that the problem was a failed voltage regulator, so I ordered a new one next-day-air from B&C and installed it Wed morning. This fixed the problem and I had an uneventful flight back home to Kansas. After wiping the bugs off, I climbed up on a stool to clean off the bird dropping on the tail, and realized it was actually a hole melted in the aluminum and fiberglass, obviously from a lightning strike. I called the Blacksburg airport and the line boy confirmed that the airport had been hit by lightning during a t-storm that blew through on the afternoon of the 4th, but he was not aware of exactly where the strike occurred. I inspected the rest of the airplane to see if I could find an exit point for the other end of the lightning bolt. So far I haven't found anything. The tiedown ropes may have been wet enough to conduct the current to the ground without burning. It's interesting that the voltage regulator (mounted on the firewall on the opposite end of the airplane from where the lightning hit) was the only electrical component damaged. Everything else seems to be working just fine.

Anyway, the irony of the situation has not escaped me. Struck by lightning, on the 4th of July, right next to the lightning bolt graphic I put on the tail. Moral of the story: don't tempt fate by putting a lightning bolt on the tail of your airplane, and then leaving it outside in a thunderstorm. :)

----------------------------------------------UPDATE---------------------------------------------

Well the mystery of what happened to the other end of the lightning bolt is no longer a mystery. I pulled a bunch of panels and fairings off the airplane and found arcing damage on the outboard rim of both wheels. The damage to the right wheel is fairly minor, the damage to the left wheel is more severe, with two melted spots on the rim. No damage to the tires or tight-fitting fiberglass wheel fairings.





Sounds like my insurance company is willing to pay for all the damages (no deductible) which looks to be amounting to well over $1K at this point...

Mark Navratil
RV-8A N2D
Olathe, KS

Mark,

Wow, some pictures. Next time, take the #1 iron out of your golf bag or borrow one if you don't have one. Lean it up against the side of the plane next time you park it outside. Why? (old golfers joke)

'Cause not even God can hit a 1 iron!

See you and Skyler in Oshkosh in a couple of weeks.

Further advice.
 

My Air Tractor with a PT-6 turbine was sold to a guy in central Georgia, who used chains and an over center bucking bar to hold it tight.

He parked it one day, due to T-storms and bucked it down. Next day, no starter, so it took a day finding and installing another one....then the electric fuel pump wouldn't prime so another day spent.

He cranked the airplane and went flying and soon after, the chip light came on. The chip detector is in the lower reduction gearbox in the front of the engine and a piece of metal had bridged the gap between the two little magnets....yep, the gearbox was making metal!

Eventually, it took a gearbox overhaul...probably $50,000+ since the lightning had entered the top prop blade, through the #6 bearing (right behind the prop)..through the engine and starter/generator..through the fuselage and wings, to the well grounded chain!!

Don't ever use steel cable or chains to tie down your airplane.

Best,

Note to self: Never ever use lightning bolt graphics. ;)

Sorry to hear about the lightning strike and damage, but I've gotta tell you that I laughed out loud when I read this. May be the funniest thing I've read on VAF in a while.

This is also why I've always said that I would NEVER paint Flames on an airplane or car.

On Lightning; I've dealt with lightning strikes on houses and I can assure you that lightning does NOT follow the rules!

What are the chances the lightening could have damaged a rod-end bearing, if it had hit on a control surface?

Pretty good!

Pierrre- in a former life, I briefly flew the military version of King Air 200, and had an in-flight lightning strike. Reported it at the conclusion of the flight, inspection showed that it hit a prop tip.

The maintenance instructions required an engine change, which at the time surprised me. I was told that the lightning would have ruined several bearings in the engine, and that continued use would surely result in an eventual engine failure.

Don't know if the same holds true for recip engines????

Did the plane have lightning bolt grapics? :confused:


;)