Army-Navy Precipitation-Static Project: Part V-The High-Voltage Characteristics of Aircraft in Flight

1 May 1946

journal article
Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in Proceedings of the IRE

Vol. 34 (5) , 241-247
https://doi.org/10.1109/JRPROC.1946.234566

Abstract

The important high-voltage electrical characteristics of aircraft in flight are determined from (a) flight operations in precipitation areas; (b) flight operations using a new artificial charger to electrify the airplane in flight; (c) high-voltage experiments on the airplane supported in a giant hangar; and (d) theoretical analysis. It is shown how the fundamental electrical constants of the airplane may be approximately determined and how these may be used to forecast the high-voltage behavior of a flying aircraft. It is shown that, at a given altitude, the current I discharged by an airplane in flight is of the form I = AE + B(E²-E0²) where E is the magnitude of the electric field as measured on the belly and A, B and E0are constants. The electrical capacitance of an aircraft in flight is about 20 per cent of the wing span expressed in centimeters.

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