Drummer Posted June 13, 2020 Report Posted June 13, 2020 I noticed just yesterday that the three static Wicks are missing on the left wing of my 1979 Mooney 231 is there anyone out there with access to these screw in type static Wicks? Quote
M20F-1968 Posted June 13, 2020 Report Posted June 13, 2020 They are available. About $50 each. Call Dan at Lasar for part numbers. John Breda 1 Quote
carusoam Posted June 13, 2020 Report Posted June 13, 2020 Then find out who walk into them... They are brittle and snap when bumped hard enough... Best regards, -a- Quote
PT20J Posted June 13, 2020 Report Posted June 13, 2020 They come with split washers. The newest ones have a hex base to allow them to be tightened more easily so the don’t come loose. Check during preflight that the are all tight. LASAR’s website has a parts catalog and you can order online. They ship same day. But it currently shows no stock of the 4” wicks.https://lasar.com/pitot-static-system/static-wickstatic-discharger-10-900-601 I believe Aviall stocks them, so if your FBO or mechanic has an Aviall account you could have them order for you. Skip Quote
MooneyMitch Posted June 13, 2020 Report Posted June 13, 2020 54 minutes ago, carusoam said: Then find out who walk into them... They are brittle and snap when bumped hard enough... Best regards, -a- I discovered who walked into them and broke them........... it was ME!! 1 1 Quote
GeeBee Posted June 13, 2020 Report Posted June 13, 2020 1 hour ago, MooneyMitch said: I discovered who walked into them and broke them........... it was ME!! If I were you, I would beat the snot out if that guy, then make him pay for the new ones 1 3 Quote
PT20J Posted June 13, 2020 Report Posted June 13, 2020 My mechanic takes them off and tapes them to the control surface with masking tape when he’s working on the plane in the hangar. I swear those things jump out and grab you whenever your back is turned. Quote
bradp Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 Why do some models have static wicks and some models don’t? Curious. Quote
ArtVandelay Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 Has anyone ever been shocked when stepping off their Mooney after a flight? I haven’t, so assume this is a big plane problem, not a problem for a Mooney. Quote
MikeOH Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 2 hours ago, ArtVandelay said: Has anyone ever been shocked when stepping off their Mooney after a flight? I haven’t, so assume this is a big plane problem, not a problem for a Mooney. My understanding is that the wicks only become important if you do a lot of flying in the rain, i.e. precipitation. Without the the wicks the precipitation you are flying through causes charge to build up on the airframe which then suddenly discharges and causes electrical interference to your avionics (p-static). The wicks slowly and continuously bleed off the charge preventing that. Even without the wicks, by the time you land and taxi any charge would have dissipated regardless of having wicks. Quote
carusoam Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 Anything that causes friction... Air has some friction... Water may have more... Snow... lots... Flying in IMC these things can be more important... Flying with a GPS... May make static signals larger than the gps signals... PP thoughts only, not a radio tech... Best regards, -a- Quote
PT20J Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 Interesting question. My '78 J did not have them. I recall flying IMC through precip one night and putting my fingers up against the windshield and seeing a St. Elmos discharge outside in the vicinity of each finger tip. Eerie. My '94 J has them. The IPC gives no clue as to when Mooney began using them. Skip 1 Quote
vorlon1 Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 My C dosen't have them either... Should I install them? Quote
kortopates Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) Static wicks have always been optional equipment, at least since the J's. So purely an owner/operator choice. Don't think they've ever been standard equipment unless that has changed. My first Mooney had them and my second one didn't. After I got my second Mooney without them, I read up quite a bit trying to decide if I needed them - after all one the many 2 kt speed mods is just to remove them! (kidding). Everything I read suggested they we're only really helpful with old age long wave communications such as ADF and Loran and not likely ever to be beneficial with our VHF NAV/COM and even less with GPS. Although I read there were some very rare or unique atmospheric conditions that they could still be beneficial, at the time I decided that was highly unlikely. Now ~18 years later flying without them in all kinds of IMC with precipitation for hours on end and from low level to the flight levels I have yet to ever have a communications issue. I am now more convinced than ever their unnecessary with a modern panel. But I've gotten into many clients Mooney's and despite having quality modern radios had weak and static ridden radios. Edited June 14, 2020 by kortopates 3 Quote
carusoam Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 Since some planes have them and some do not... Expect that there is a luxury package that Mooney put in many models... They got named MSEs... (Mooney Special Edition) Fancy leather interiors, electric trim, Static eliminators... More insulation... The opposite end of the spectrum got named ATs... (Advanced Trainers) ATs got de-contented specifically to reduce costs... but not functionality... So... look up a Mooney model that was an AT... and see if Mooney and their customers thought static eliminators were important... at the time... Check your own trailing edges to see if you have any internally threaded bits riveted in place to receive the threaded eliminator... Don’t be surprised if you find them... If you want to add them... it surely doesn’t cost that much... We can always ask our instrument panel builders what they think of static eliminators.... Best regards, -a- Quote
MooneyMitch Posted June 14, 2020 Report Posted June 14, 2020 We used to see them on airliners...... do we still see them? Quote
laytonl Posted June 15, 2020 Report Posted June 15, 2020 I get them from sky geek, I believe my 1992 j uses the DD-1W, about $22. Lee Quote
PT20J Posted June 15, 2020 Report Posted June 15, 2020 23 minutes ago, laytonl said: I get them from sky geek, I believe my 1992 j uses the DD-1W, about $22. Lee Lee, do you remember the length? I ordered the same part from Sky Geek but sent them back. I seem to recall that they were 6" long and most of the ones on my 94 J are 4". I ended up buying some from LASAR. Skip Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.