STATIC DISCHARGERS

#STATICDISCHARGERS #STATICWICKS #STATICELECTRICITY
Static dischargers, commonly known as static wicks or static discharge wicks, are installed on the trailing edges of aircraft, including (electrically grounded) ailerons, elevators, rudder, wing, horizontal and vertical stabilizer tips.
Precipitation static is an electrical charge on an airplane caused by flying through rain, snow, ice, or dust particles. When the aircraft charge is great enough, it discharges into the surrounding air.
Friction from the structure and the air causes an accumulation of static charge in its extremities, this is dissipated through the static dischargers
Without static dischargers, the charge discharges in large batches through pointed aircraft extremities, such as antennas, wing tips, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and other protrusions.
The discharge creates a broad-band radio frequency noise from DC to 1000 MHz, which can affect aircraft communication.
Static dischargers contain sharper points than any other part of the aircraft, causing the charge to discharge through them instead, and do so gradually.