What are those tips on the wings my friend asked/...and I f

[Will Fly For Cheese 1,710]

3 hours ago, Andreas Stangenes said:

They are static charge ports for discharge of static electricity. Ie when getting hit by lightning, flying in st elmos fire or otherwise when the airplane creates static electricity from air friction. They are part of the MEL (minimum equiptment list) and you cannot fly if any or a certain number of them are broken. 

Not static ports; they're static wicks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_discharger

Static Ports are part of the vacuum system for instruments.

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by Will Fly For Cheese

[GACSavannah 227]

6 hours ago, Victoroos said:

> what are those pointy things for at the wing..

But, to answer his original question, because static discharges are not typically pointy, the three large pointy things on the wing in the image are the flap hinges. The 6 smaller pointy things in front of the aileron are vortex generators. Those create small horizontal vortexes, sort of like teeny tiny tornados,and each has a low pressure point at the center. These combined low pressure areas do a number of things, including helping to keep airflow smooth and active, and also sometimes they can increase flight control effectiveness and reduce control effort.

Edited June 5, 2021 by GACSavannah

[bobcat999 8,440]

50 minutes ago, GACSavannah said:

But, to answer his original question, because static discharges are not typically pointy, the three large pointy things on the wing in the image are the flap hinges. The 6 smaller pointy things in front of the aileron are vortex generators. Those create small horizontal vortexes, sort of like teeny tiny tornados,and each has a low pressure point at the center. These combined low pressure areas do a number of things, including helping to keep airflow smooth and active, and also sometimes they can increase flight control effectiveness and reduce control effort.

You mean to say we have gone through the whole thread without answering the OP's question?  Wow!  It was an interesting interlude though! 

Edit:  After looking back at the picture, I think we still got it right.  The static wicks are the most 'pointy' things on the wing I think!  

Edited June 5, 2021 by bobcat999

[Will Fly For Cheese 1,710]

1 hour ago, bobcat999 said:

You mean to say we have gone through the whole thread without answering the OP's question?  Wow!  It was an interesting interlude though! 

Edit:  After looking back at the picture, I think we still got it right.  The static wicks are the most 'pointy' things on the wing I think!  

Umm, I feel I did answer the OP's question - complete with Wikipedia entry. . .

[GACSavannah 227]

5 hours ago, Will Fly For Cheese said:

Umm, I feel I did answer the OP's question - complete with Wikipedia entry. . .

Well, yeah, I suppose, except that static dischargers are not pointy. They are typically about the exact size and shape as the typical un-sharpened #2 pencil, perhaps a little bigger in diameter, but close, and with a flat, blunt end. Regardless, it has been a great discussion! Peace out!

[Will Fly For Cheese 1,710]

9 hours ago, GACSavannah said:

Well, yeah, I suppose, except that static dischargers are not pointy. They are typically about the exact size and shape as the typical un-sharpened #2 pencil, perhaps a little bigger in diameter, but close, and with a flat, blunt end. Regardless, it has been a great discussion! Peace out!

I didn't say they were pointy.

[bobcat999 8,440]

16 minutes ago, Will Fly For Cheese said:

I didn't say they were pointy.

No, the OP did.  They look pointy enough to me, flat end or not!   And I am sure the static wicks are what he was on about. 

One if my teachers at school had a 'pointy stick' to point towards the blackboard.  It had a flat end so he didn't have anybody's eye out.  Nevertheless, it was a 'pointy stick'. 

Hopefully the OP will come back and confirm we answered his original question, and thank us for all the discussion on what constitutes being 'pointy' or not!  

Edited June 6, 2021 by bobcat999

[Will Fly For Cheese 1,710]

This is VERY pointy - multiple-pointy in fact. And flat at the other end.

Does the same thing.

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Will Fly For Cheese

[Victoroos 205]

I love you guys! Thanks for all the answers.

What I wonder though, why does the electricity go "back" to the air their. Because the surface is small?

[Will Fly For Cheese 1,710]

35 minutes ago, Victoroos said:

I love you guys! Thanks for all the answers.

What I wonder though, why does the electricity go "back" to the air their. Because the surface is small?

Because they're the most pointy things on the aircraft; Fitted on almost all civilian aircraft today, they are high electrical resistance (6-200 megaohm) devices with a lower corona voltage than the surrounding aircraft structure. They control the corona discharge into the atmosphere. They are used on aircraft to allow the continuous satisfactory operation of onboard navigation and radio communication systems during precipitation (p-static) conditions. Precipitation static is an electrical charge on an airplane caused by flying through rain, snow, ice, or dust particles. When the aircraft charge is great enough, it discharges into the surrounding air. Without static dischargers, the charge discharges in large batches through pointed aircraft extremities, such as antennas, wing tips, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and other protrusions. The discharge creates a broad-band radio frequency noise from DC to 1000 MHz, which can affect aircraft communication. Static dischargers contain sharper points than any other part of the aircraft, causing the charge to discharge through them instead, and do so gradually.

Edited June 7, 2021 by Will Fly For Cheese