If you ride long enough through snow, fog and desert dust, you’ll likely hear the audio signatures of static built up on the airframe. It can be severe enough to shut down a comm and nav receiver. The troubleshoot chase can be as frustrating for the techs as it is for pilots because everything will likely work perfectly on the ground. Static discharge wicks should be the first accessories to consider, especially when committing to a new avionics installation. But antennas could be the culprit, too.
For this article, we talked with avionics manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers and technicians about the effects of airframe static buildup on new avionics gear, and why healthy static wicks can help. Here’s what we learned.