Static electricity from lines

[Codywater]

While out doing a little team flying with the Revs last weekend at Ocean Shores, we experienced a rare phenomenon: static electricity building on the kite and lines, jumping off kite handles and from our shoes.

Weather was cloudy with intermittent light drizzle and a light breeze, enough for a mid-vent but not quite a full-vent wind. There was no hint of lightning or thunder. Right after launching the kites for the first time, around 10am, the lines started humming. With thumbs positioned over the top of the handles, I started feeling a buzzing, light shock from the tip of the handle. Thinking there was some static in my fleece gloves, I removed them and launched again. Again, lines started humming and a stronger shock was coming from the handles. Hovering my thumbs over the tip of the handles demonstrated arcing from handle to thumb, and the shock sensation was quite strong, particularly around the edges of the window, most significant at the top.

Others in our group had similar sensations, one feeling shocks in his shoes, and another feeling light shocks from her handles. Two team members touched elbows at one point and a very strong shock was transferred between them, strong enough to cause pain.

In the spirit of science, we decided to do a little testing. As my kite seemed to be the most prominently humming kite, I swapped handles. The original handles I was using were a pair of powder coated aluminum handles. With my fingers only on the foam grips and the kite at the top of the window, the handles and lines hummed and buzzed loud enough to be heard several feet away. I changed handles to a different aluminum set, this time without a powder coat. The result? No static. Complicating this, however, is the fact that the other team members noticed less charge jumping into their hands and feet right around the time I changed handles. So, we will never know if handles make a difference or if atmospheric conditions were simply changing around this time.

I've come across one other video of a single line kite generating static, but nowhere near as significantly as we experienced. Has anyone come across this while flying???

Regrettably, we did not take video of this phenomenon. Not sure why we didn't think of that.

[dragonfish]

Yes, I have experienced this at least two times, though probably not as strongly as what you describe. I heard the electricity-in-the-lines humming and felt tingling in my thumbs (probably where they were touching the metal part of the handles). I was using stock handles.

The first time I think it was drizzling a little. The second was right before a storm rolled in. I don't remember it being a storm with a lot of electrical activity. There were a number of us out flying. By the time I felt the tingling, there were 3 of us still flying Revs. I was the first to notice it. At first, the other two people were like, what are you talking about. Then I handed one of them my kite and he felt it. Eventually everyone felt it, and on his own kite. We decided to call it a day and go have dinner. The rain drops started when we were just about packed up, and it was raining pretty hard while we were eating dinner.

[makatakam]

What you experienced is definitely atmospheric discharge of static electricity. This is the phenomenon also responsible for causing what is called "Saint Elmo's Fire" commonly seen coming from the masts and sail spars of ships. Google it; there's some pretty interesting information about this available on-line. I have experienced this quite a few times while using a graphite rod when fishing. The rod would begin to vibrate quite strongly, always before or during a storm. The graphite frame in a Revolution kite is also a great conductor of electricity.

I recommend the next time it happens you park the kite FAST -- in other words "ground it"! Depending on the amount of static electricity created in the atmosphere, it will amaze you, hurt you, or KILL YOU!

Remember Ben Franklin? The reason for the key on the line was to prevent cooking himself. Seriously, this is not to be toyed with! A fishing buddy of mine received 3rd degree burns to his right hand where he was holding the rod -- not fun.

[quincy]

Lightning can strike well away from actual rainfall. As much as 10 miles away. If you are feeling static buildup, packup.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/lightning/resources/lightning-safety.pdf