CH-46 and CH-47 Composite Rotor Blade Lightning Protection Testing

Concern over the survivability of mission essential aircraft equipment has grown over the years, and survivability will coninue to receive more emphasis as the helicopter assumes an ever increasing role in IFR flight, both civil and military. Helicopters in regularly scheduled revenue service cannot miss launches due to weather and have the operator remain a viable competitor. Let us then look at the why of a lightning qualification test by better understanding the environment and how we handle simulating this environment in the laboratory.