Lightning Storm

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Original poster: gary350@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Someone once posted some information for a circuit that could be used 
to detect an electrical charge.  I beleive it was used to detect the 
charge on the TC but it was a long time ago so I really don't 
remember.   Someone suggested it might be used to detect the charge 
in the sky of a thunder storm to determine if it was about to 
lightning.  Does anyone have this circuit?

While flying my control line model airplane one day I got shocked 
when the airplane was flying overhead.  Must have been some type of 
static charge in the sky.   Wish I had something to detect the charge 
in the sky before I fly my model airplane.

Summer July 1970 Carbondale Illinois it was a very hot summer day no 
clouds in the sky the temperature was close to 100 it had been hot as 
$#@% all week.  About lunch time there was a small thunder I went 
outside to see if there was a thunder storm coming but there was 
nothing still no clouds in the sky anywhere.   Again there was 
another small thunder but I could not see the lightning the sun was 
too bright.   A few minutes later more thunder it was getting louder 
and I could barely see the lightning.  About 60 seconds later louder 
thunder and lightning was getting brighter.  After about 5 minutes 
lightning was very easy to see and thunder was very loud.  Lightning 
strikes were about 3 seconds apart one right after the other.  It 
sounded like artillery that I saw on a WWII movie.  The lightning 
storm was going strong for a good 5 minutes then started to fizzle 
out and was over in about 15 minutes.   There were still no clouds in 
the sky and the sun was still shinning.   It was totally amazing, no 
wind, no rain, no clouds but we had a lightning storm from hell.

Many years ago TV show NOVA did a show on heat lightning.

I was talking to other people that fly control line model airplanes 
and several people have stories of getting shocked by lightning most 
were cloudy days or over cast days but no storms in the area.  One 
person said lightning knocked him cold for 15 minutes.

I did some experements and have been flying a kite on #24 copper wire 
200 ft long.  I have not detected any static charge with an NE2 neon 
light on sunny days.  It is very interesting to note the neon light 
will light up if there is a thunder storm 20 miles away.   Every time 
the NE2 flashes it must mean a lightning strike in the thunder 
storm.  I do not fly the kite if it is cloudy or over cast or any 
thunder storms in the near by area.  Flying a control line model 
airplane on 60 ft metal cables is not much different than flying a 
kite on copper wire.

I sure would hate to get zapped by lightning.

Gary Weaver