Martin, I would like to think you are right but I doubt
you are! I think that any Europa (at least the XS, which
is constructed in very much the same way as the K21 glass
fibre glider) is just as likely to have dampness in the
wings. On top of that, if you look at the AAIB report (
www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/dft_avsafety_pdf_500699.pdf
) there is no mention of water as far as I can see - it
appears to be just a shock wave associated with the very
high energy electrical discharge. For me the point at
issue is the size of the lightning bolt. As well as
blowing up the wings the current fused or destroyed most
of the aileron control mechanisms so that it would have
been unflyable even with the wings intact. It seems that
the 3 reported Europa strikes have all been low energy
ones, and I have no optimism about an unmodified Europa
surviving a medium or large strike. Regards, David Joyce,
G-XSDJ
"Martin Olliver" <martflynut@aol.com> wrote:
><martflynut@aol.com>
>
> Thank you all for your input. The good news here is that
>those of you who have had a lightning strike, seem to
>have only suffered minor or no damage at all. The
>situation with the glider seems to be different because
>of the moisture in the wings. I think we can all fly with
>cautious optimism on this one.
> Martin.
>
>
>
>
> Read this topic online here:
>
> http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=366258#366258
>
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