How many static wicks are installed on the rudder?

How many static wicks are installed on the rudder?

• A. Zero
• B. One
• C. Two
• D. Three

Answer: (B)

Static wicks provide a controlled path for electrical charges built up on the aircraft to dissipate into the air, preventing interference with radios and avionics. They’re placed on trailing edges where charge tends to accumulate, such as the vertical stabilizer, rudder, horizontal stabilizer, and wings. On this airplane, the rudder has a single static wick. That one wick on the trailing edge is enough to discharge the charge that collects on the rudder surface, given how the discharge system is designed and how it shares a path with the rest of the tail surfaces. Adding more wicks on the rudder would add drag without providing a meaningful safety or performance gain, so one is the appropriate and correct arrangement here.

Static wicks provide a controlled path for electrical charges built up on the aircraft to dissipate into the air, preventing interference with radios and avionics. They’re placed on trailing edges where charge tends to accumulate, such as the vertical stabilizer, rudder, horizontal stabilizer, and wings.

On this airplane, the rudder has a single static wick. That one wick on the trailing edge is enough to discharge the charge that collects on the rudder surface, given how the discharge system is designed and how it shares a path with the rest of the tail surfaces. Adding more wicks on the rudder would add drag without providing a meaningful safety or performance gain, so one is the appropriate and correct arrangement here.