Re: REFLECTOR: Fuel Tanks

["Brian K. Michalk" <michalk@sisko.awpi.com>]

Don't forget that static charge is on the *outside* of the
container too.

Think of a faraday cage.  I saw a demo in Germany at a museum
where they had a guy in a metal cage.  They suspended the
cage from the ceiling and turned on a huge Van deGraff
generator.  It made sparks that jumped several feet, and
was very loud.  The guy inside the cage was fine because the 
charge goes through the outside.

If you fuel your plane yourself, simply grab the fuel nozzle
while undoing your fuel cap.  Try to also touch that
little ring of aluminum before you get the cap off.

If you don't fuel your airplane yourself.  Have the lineboy 
fetch his fuel nozzle.  Put one hand on the fuel cap and
shake the lineboy's hand with the other.  

Someone did the math once that calculated the capacitance
of a fiberglass airplane.  The general idea was that yes, 
the plane did build up a charge, but by the time you
taxied to the fuel pump, most of the static would already have 
dissipated.

That's what I remember.  Does anyone know if there
is a different ability to retain a static charge
for different materials?
-- 
Brian Michalk  <http://www.awpi.com/michalk>
Life is what you make of it ... never wish you had done something.
Aviator, experimental aircraft builder, motorcyclist, SCUBA diver
musician, home-brewer, entrepenuer and SINGLE!