Another cyclist killed by lightning



V

Vernon Levy

Guest
As well as cycling, one of my other hobbies is free flight
aeromodelling
i.e. flying without radio control. I have just learned
that a prominent modeller was killed on Sunday at
Barkston Heath, an RAF air base whilst recovering his
plane by bycicle.

This should reinforce the need to dismount and seek shelter
in thundery weather. I've experienced a thunderstorm at
Barkstone and it wasn't a pleasant experience as an airbase
by its very nature has very few places to take shelter and
it's all too easy to be the highest object for several
hundred metres. I had advance warning of the impending storm
as I was receiving electric shocks through the metal lines
of a control line plane....I was effectively flying a 60'
long lightning conductor and the storm hit 15 minutes after
my first shocks, I'd packed up immediately and retreated to
the car within minutes of the shocks. I just wonder if there
was much warning of the storm and how much notice the
modellers took. Some of them are *so* competitive that they
take unecessary risks

Don't take risks with thunder storms it's gamble that I'll
no longer take as I don't feel as invulnerable as I used to
as a feckless youth :)

Here's the report of the incident.

"It is with great sadness that we inform you of a tragic
accident which occurred at the Free Flight Nationals on
Sunday 30th May.

Peter Harris from Kidderminster who was a very well known
and respected member of the Free Flight community was
cycling across the airfield during a very sudden and violent
thunderstorm when he was struck by lightning. First aid was
administered at the scene and an ambulance crew arrived
within minutes to take Peter to hospital in Grantham. Sadly,
Peter died of his injuries.
 
"vernon levy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> As well as cycling, one of my other hobbies is free flight
> aeromodelling
> i.e. flying without radio control. I have just learned
> that a prominent modeller was killed on Sunday at
> Barkston Heath, an RAF air base whilst recovering his
> plane by bycicle.

This was the same bloke in my earlier post, there was only
cyclist killed recently.
--
Simon M.
 
In message <[email protected]>, vernon levy
<[email protected]> writes
>
>This should reinforce the need to dismount and seek shelter
>in thundery weather. I've experienced a thunderstorm at
>Barkstone and it wasn't a pleasant experience as an airbase
>by its very nature has very few places to take shelter and
>it's all too easy to be the highest object for several
>hundred metres.

LIghtning strikes build up to the moment of discharge; the
target patch of ground develops an opposite charge which is
then neutralised by the strike. Lightning experts advise
that if you feel tingling and your hair stands on end, the
spot you're standing on is about to be hit, and you should
run away as fast as possible. On a bicycle in the middle of
a airfield you should have no difficulty making your escape.

I'm told a lightning conductor protects only a 45-degree
cone around its tip, and anything further away can still be
hit. That's why church towers with square tops generally
have four or five of them, while a steeple only needs one.
A conductor less than two metres tall (you) would not
attract strikes from hundreds of metres away, or even
several metres. This means you'd be extremely unlucky to be
hit, even standing in the open, but it's still bound to
happen sometime.

Furthermore, the unfortunate modeller was elderly; a fit
younger chap in

cycling. A Canadian park ranger has survived three lightning
strikes, albeit with injuries caused by being thrown off a
motor cycle!

So save your anxiety for the carnage on our roads...

--
Sue ];:))
 
Sue <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> Lightning experts advise that if you feel tingling and
> your hair stands on end, the spot you're standing on is
> about to be hit, and you should run away as fast as
> possible. On a bicycle in the middle of a airfield you
> should have no difficulty making your escape.

Assuming you can cycle faster than a lightning bolt! It's
not that spot that is going to be hit, it's you. Experts
advise assuming a crouching postion thus->

http://www.kidslightning.info/lsaftposi.htm

"If you are isolated in a level field or prairie and you
feel your hair stand on end (which indicates that lightning
is about to strike), bend forward, putting your hands on
your knees. A position with feet together and crouching
while removing all metal objects is recommended. Do not lie
flat on the ground"

http://www.fema.gov/hazards/thunderstorms/thunderf.shtm

You can also see two brothers with their hair on end here,
just before they were killed.

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/cae/svrwx/ltg.htm

--
Simon M.