Electrostatic aerial spraying

Abstract

A method is presented for electrostatic aerial spraying and automatic control of the aircraft potential as well as some preliminary tests carried out with a full-scale aircraft. The method consists of inductively charging two coplanar clouds of opposite polarity and controlling any minor accidental charges on the electrical system by means of corona discharges. By spraying a positively charged plane cloud on the port side of the aircraft and a negatively charged plane cloud on the starboard side of the same aircraft, with corona balancing controls one can maintain the potential of the aircraft within acceptable limits under all conditions. The two coplanar clouds sprayed from an altitude normally used in aerial applications move preferentially towards the vegetation to be sprayed rather than being attracted to one another