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raimo.toivio(at)rwm.fi
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 Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:21 pm Post subject: An another incident for Finnish Europa around Barkaby Fly-in |
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Hi all
My sad responsibility is to report also my incident as follows:
I was flying back from Barkaby to Finland Tampere (EFTP) via Umeċ (ESNU).
Two legs, 3 hrs and 1 hrs 20 minutes.
Half an hour from EFTP I met two thunder storm centres. I elected to fly between them.
Seemed for me to be just a normal practise. QNH altitude 4000 feet, airspeed 130 knots,
ground speed 150 knots, air temp 22C, plane was well trimmed and loaded near MTOW
658 kg /1450 lbs.Almost overcast (5/ about 6000 feet. We saw quite strong lightnings
both sides.
Suddenly I got a STRONG electric shock like static or similar to my right hand from the power lever.
My friend got a similar shock to his ears through head sets.
Very heavy raining started immediately.
Radio started awful whistling and whining.
What the hell was happening we asked each others.
Plane was still flying well.
We saw no damages on the wing surfaces etc.
Radio stopped whistling after five minutes or so.
I was checking all the equipments I could.
During that inspection I noticed I have no trim position display any more (I have those green MAC leds).
I tried to trim but nothing happened.
CB (Europa suplied) was in position.
I tried via change over swith my another lower speed trim adjusting switch but nothing happened.
Just for in case I opened trim CB to avoid possibility of the trim auto-run case.
I have to mention we had with Jos a discussion of that case and he stated that if it goes to the other side,
it is impossible to keep pitch control any more. And that discussion was this morning!
So, I was flying over EFTP. Altitude 3000 feet. There was a whole circus like several fire trucks, police and
ambulances. Carefully I slowed the speed to 80 knots to test what happens during flaps/gear lowering.
You remember I had lost my electric trim and it was trimmed for 130 knots.
During my normal abroach speed 70 knots I can tell you the nose was VERY heavy but still controlable.
Just in case my strong friend helped me by pulling his stick also.
I keeped that speed until touching the runway and it was one of my best monowheel landing ever
(like Jos reported today in his other case EFHF).
ATC men, fire men and all the others congratulated me. We were alive and OH-XRT was still in one piece.
I taxied to the hangar and after half an hour trim motor started to work by itself.
Still there was no its position lights. Trim CB was working normally.
We fast checked the plane and obviously the lightning has gone trough stbd-side stabilator pip-pin to the structure. The pip-pin cover (transparent sticker) was explosed and the head of the pip-pin was black.
That was it. I drove home, kissed my daughters and wife and opened a bottle of bier.
BTW - when we were over EFTP, my friend measured my pulse rate and it was 150.
That was an interesting experience. Some of you know that I made last summer a serioush but super lucky
forced landing in Lappland because my Cessna´s mechanical trim was working uppsidedown.
That was because a service error of certified service company Arctic Airservice.
Trim controls are my nightmares and devils lurking to make me a bad day.
I grounded my Europa of course. I am not sure what to do now.
If I later decide to continue flying, I have to fix it first and and check it carefully.
I called Jos (thank you) and he advised me to check everything.
Have you there any ideas for me, please?
Raimo
OH-XRT, 64 hrs, grounded so far
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paul.the.aviator(at)gmail
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| Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 4:02 pm Post subject: An another incident for Finnish Europa around Barkaby Fly-in |
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Hi Ramio,
Well I guess you have joined the club. Take a look at
http://www.europa.net.nz/363/index.html, click on the left hand pane
under flying experiences and you can read about the damage my aircraft
took with my lightning strike.
By the way, I bought a lottery ticket straight after my hit but i
didn't win anything. I assume that I have used up all of my luck
Cheers, Paul
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davidjoyce(at)doctors.org
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| Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 1:11 am Post subject: An another incident for Finnish Europa around Barkaby Fly-in |
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Raimo, Congratulations on your cool response (only 150bpm!) and survival!
I hate lightning. Always find myself thinking about the UK glider whose
wing actually blew apart. In thinking how to prepare my plane for a trip to
Australia (where close encounters with lightning are almost inevitable) I
came across the attached in a 2001 CAA paper on lightning protection, (the
earlier pages were all about tin aircraft), which says:
4 Gliders. Attention should be given to these aircraft, especially
those of non metallic structure, and bonding straps should be installed
between the extremities to conduct any strike away from the flying controls.
A point to remember is that bonding should run as straight as possible
avoiding loops formed by excess lengths at, for example, transport joints,
since a lightning strike will jump across any sharp loops or bends.
Before I head off to Asia, I plan to put aluminium mesh right along
the aileron and flap close outs joining to the rear lift pin to allow wing
tip to wing tip lightning travel, and probably also a similar strap from the
engine frame along the tunnel to the tail wheel spring. Would weigh probably
less than a kg. What do you think?
Regards David Joyce, G-XSDJ, Mono XS
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raimo.toivio(at)rwm.fi
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| Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject: An another incident for Finnish Europa around Barkaby Fly-in |
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Paul,
I read your lightning story and all went basically like mine yesterday
"I have a shut off knob on the tunnel for the air box which supplies ventilation for the cabin and my knee was leaning up against it. I guess there is about 4 feet of cable, but it was enough to induce a significant voltage to electrocute me."
That was for me an experience I will never forget.
My Europa´s damages were anyway children´s play but it is always nice to belong to the same club as you.
Do they say the strike does not hit the same plane never again, do they ???
Wishes, Raimo
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raimo.toivio(at)rwm.fi
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 12:07 pm Post subject: An another incident for Finnish Europa around Barkaby Fly-in |
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Thanks David for participation.
| Quote: | less than a kg. What do you think?
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I think those are almost useless, sorry.
I point that is my opinion only.
In the other hand maybe delusion influence will help. Or psychologikal.
When you get a little hits those traps may save your radios etc.
If you get a full strike it is like a bomb and your world will explode.
Some conduits will not help then.
Only help is to stop flying totally - you can be sure then you won´t meet thunder king any more in the plane.
2nd best way is to avoid CB´s
3rd best way is to fly by metal plane.
I know one Lancair-builder who wrapped his wonderful composite missile to the copper net.
He laminated copper net over all the outside surfaces.
The calculated weight penalty with extra epox was about 75 kgs /170 lbs
So he made some kind of faraday cage over his plastic plane - maybe that helps in some cases.
I estimate a laminated copper cage for Europa will be about 45 kgs /100 lbs.
Some people trust also for "static whics" to protect the plane. I do not know.
Some people are hunging rubber strings from their cars to prevent travel sickness.
Some people put an axe under their bed to get boys (I have not and got "only" girls).
Today I believe there was a high tension between those two thunder centres.
I flied between them.
Sudden heavy rain released it.
We got our electric shocks during the same seconds the rain started.
It was immediately zero visibility fore - few seconds before the visibility was 20 km or so.
Luckily it was a horisontal strike and so small, that I can be here and laugh.
Let´s call it "Sweet St. Elmo´s fire" or what so ever.
I have checked carefully my plane and results are as follows:
- broken trim position indicator (led modell).
- broken stbd side pip-pin adhesive cover (almost free).
- black pip-pin head (do not trust it any more).
I my hand there are already a new indicator and a pip-pin from one great fellow builder.
OH-XRT will fly soon - but far away from CB`s
(you can be sure about that and we all should avoid them, please).
Raimo
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davidjoyce(at)doctors.org
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:44 am Post subject: An another incident for Finnish Europa around Barkaby Fly-in |
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Raimo, The material I have in mind is aluminium mesh of the sort that could
be used as radiator grills in home built cars. A 5cm strip of this could be
fitted right down the close outs to the rear lift pins and across the
strengthening bar. It would not weigh a lot, but would have conducting
capacity much in excess of Nav light wires (which seem to have served as
lightning conductors for a number of victims), and most importantly would
encourage the course of the strike to be outside structures that matter in
flight - at least that's the way I see it and it appears to be what the UK
CAA experts have said is desirable for gliders. Regards, David Joyce,
G-XSDJ
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