Sensors for lightning measurements on aircraft

Lightning strikes a commercial airliner on the average once a year. The European project ldquoIn-flight Lightning Strike Damage Assessment System (ILDAS)rdquo [1] aims to develop and validate a prototype of a system capable to 1) reconstruct the current intensity and wave form, 2) determine of the region of impact on the aircraft, 3) build a maintenance database. Suitable sensors rely on determination of the magnetic field during a strike. Probes considered are inductive coils and solid state sensors, combined in such a way that these cover the full dynamic range in amplitudes (1 A/m up to 40 kA/m) and the full bandwidth (approx. 1 Hz up to 20 MHz). External sensors should be avoided if possible.