I was puttering around the hangar and just happened to notice a slow drip from the fuel tank sump drain. Ran a few shots of fuel into the trusty fuel tester in hopes of flushing the trash from under the o-ring. It just got worse, so I retrieved a wrench, a spare drain valve, and a catch pan, then crawled up under the airplane to do the swap. I reached for the dripping valve......and discharged a fat blue lightning bolt about an 1/8" long directly to the wet brass.
It didn't light. No bandages and I still have an airplane.
No idea how I managed to build a static charge so quickly, but I did, and the lesson is clear. Discharge yourself by touching some metal part of the airplane before you reach for any fuel component....in particular valves dripping fuel.
It didn't light. No bandages and I still have an airplane.
No idea how I managed to build a static charge so quickly, but I did, and the lesson is clear. Discharge yourself by touching some metal part of the airplane before you reach for any fuel component....in particular valves dripping fuel.