Have you ever experienced St. Elmo's fire on a large aircraft?

Question

Have you ever experienced St. Elmo's fire on a large aircraft?

Answer 1

Nah, but I sang Great Balls Of Fire once when I jumped over a lit candle.

Answer 2

Bunches

Answer 3

Yes, in the B52H we used to encounter it in the northern latitudes at high altitude. It was fascinating to see it dancing over the cockpit, but a little disconcerting to see it out on the wings, which of course are full of fuel.

Answer 4

Yes I have.

Its amazing.  I have seen two types.  One where there was purple plasma surrounding the entire nose of the aircraft and jetting off of the windshield wipers.  It looked like purple fire just covering us.

The other was like little lightning bolts crawling over the windshield.  The best analogy I can draw is the end of Return of the Jedi, where the emperor was shooting lighting at Luke.  It looked just like that.

Answer 5

Yes, usually through rain or snow at higher altitudes.  In the old days, we'd bring the F/As up to see it.

Looks like those electrically charged balls you see in Spencer Gifts, you could run your finger over the glass and the spark would follow.