Static discharge

[jungle]

Two shots of static discharge on an aircraft windscreen at night. ISO 100, 15s and 5s. Lots of electrical energy and a heavy scent of ozone. The shots cover an area of about 25" x 20".

[kevin_c]

:shock: :shock: Bilmey, is this a 'normal' thing - looks pretty frightening to me...

[jungle]

Yes, it is normal when flying through clouds at altitude. The clouds at 30k+ feet are mostly ice crystals and generate static by their passage over the aircraft. The static is disharged harmlessly. We also get some St. Elmo's fire, but haven't gotten a good shot of that yet.