Direct and indirect lightning tests to the Z11 helicopter radome in China

A 4.8 MV impulse voltage generator and impulse current generators are used to perform lightning simulation on the Z11 helicopter radome. The radome system is composed of lightning diverter strips, air data probe and a 0.5 m long metal structure attached to the radome to simulate the helicopter body. The test facilities, process and the results are presented according to the Chinese CCAR27 standard. This test improved considerably the lightning protection performance of the Z11 radome system by optimizing the diverters. This resulted in successful passing of ground simulated lightning test requirements.