Had a weird static issue on a King Air 200 in Boise last Tuesday.

The VHF comms kept cutting out, but only above 10,000 feet. Checked all the usual stuff, bonding, antenna connections. Nothing. Then I remembered a tech note about static wicks on the elevator. Sure enough, two were missing. Replaced them, ground test was fine. Next flight, comms were perfect. Anyone else run into altitude-specific comm problems from missing static wicks?

3 comments

3 Comments

henry3151mo ago

Which tech note tipped you off?

wendys161mo ago

The footnote about server costs was a huge clue. Most companies try to hide that stuff, but putting it right there in the notes shows they were scrambling to cut corners. It points to a bigger money problem they didn't want to talk about directly. That kind of detail often gets overlooked when people just scan for flashy tech terms.

sam171mo ago

@henry315 asked which tech note tipped me off and honestly, that server cost footnote is the smoking gun. Most companies bury operational costs deep in appendixes or spread them across line items so nobody notices. The fact they threw it in a tech note without context means somebody was panicking about cash flow. @henry315, you ever see a startup suddenly mention a basic cost like that? It's like when a friend randomly tells you how much their rent is - they're either bragging or drowning. Those details don't make it into public documents unless someone is trying to justify past decisions or brace for bad news.