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Why does nobody talk about static wicks getting painted over?
I was doing a walkaround on a Cessna 172 last Tuesday in Dayton and noticed the static wicks on the right wing were painted over, not just a little but the whole base and half the rod. Ground crews and painters keep doing this because they don't know what they are, and it kills the discharge path. Static buildup on the airframe can mess with VOR signals and even the transponder returns if the wicks aren't doing their job. I've seen three planes in the last 8 months with this issue, and every time it took a second look to catch it before it became a squawk. Anyone else finding painted wicks on routine inspections, and do you strip them or just log it?
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emery_flores3d ago
Painted over "the whole base and half the rod" is wild, like someone just handed the new guy a spray can and said have at it. Half the time I bet the painter thinks they're just little antennas that look better all one color. I've pulled wicks on a 172 where the paint was so thick I had to use a plastic scraper just to find the screw head. At that point the wick is basically a decoration, not a static drain.
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