Measurement of Electrostatic Charge on Aircraft

摘要

The electrostatic charge on airplanes was determined from measurements of the charge induced on a large screen while the airplanes flew over it. The airplane charge was computed from a transfer function that involved the relaxation time of the sensing circuit and the passage time of the airplane. Corrections for variation in the height and displacement of the airplanes were made from laboratory measurements on scale models of the field equipment. The average charge on a jetpropelled F-86 fighter was found to be -35 .4 x 10 to the minus 6th power coulomb and on a B-26 bomber,-0.56 x 10 to the minus 6th power coulomb. The corresponding aircraft potentials are approximately -141,000 and -1200 v. (Author)