Standard
Aircraft Lightning Environment and Related Test Waveforms
2024-10-01
CURRENT
ARP5412C
The environment and test waveforms defined in this SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) account for the best lightning data and analysis currently available. The quantified environment and levels herein represent the minimum currently required by certifying authorities, which is consistent with the approach applied in related lightning documents. Lightning, like other weather phenomenon, is probabilistic in nature. Levels and waveforms vary considerably from one flash to the next. Within this document, standardized voltage and current waveforms have been derived to represent the lightning environment external to an aircraft. These standardized waveforms are used to assess the effects of lightning on aircraft. The standardized external current waveforms have, in turn, been used to derive standardized transient voltage and current test waveforms that can be expected to appear on cable bundles and at equipment interfaces within an aircraft.