Static wick

[1] Precipitation static is an electrical charge on an airplane caused by flying through rain, snow storms, ice, or dust particles.

[citation needed] To control this discharge, so as to allow the continuous operation of navigation and radio communication systems, static wicks are installed on the trailing edges of aircraft.

Static wicks are high electrical resistance (6–200 megaohm) devices with a lower corona voltage and sharper points than the surrounding aircraft structure.

[citation needed] The first static wicks were developed by a joint Army-Navy team led by Dr. Ross Gunn of the Naval Research Laboratory and fitted onto military aircraft during World War II.

They were shown to be effective even in extreme weather conditions in 1946 by a United States Army Air Corps team led by Capt.