Originally Posted by
tdracer
Dave, sorry if referring to Tom as "reasonably sharp" came across as condescending or insulting - that certainly was not my intent and I apologize if it came across that way. Tom is very competent (unlike a few other FAA types I dealt with) - my point being he's a Propulsion specialist, which in itself covers a wide range of issues. You can't expect him to be an expert at lightning as well. That's why Boeing has an EMI/Lightning group made up of experts in the field that support the various other disciplines so that they don't need to be EMI/Lightning experts.
Are you sure about the lack of copper in the 787 carbon fiber matrix? .
Thanks for the further comment about Tom.
Yes I'm sure about no mesh in the wing skins. I know mesh was seriously considered and I believe it was part of the planned configuration for some time, but I believe concerns about delaminations and difficult repairs after lightning attachments led to the decision to go without mesh.