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I don't think that you have
anything to worry about as far as your instrumentation surviving a lightning
strike. The airframe, very likely, will not survive. The carbon airframes,
however, have a chance (who had a hole blown in their tail a few months
ago?). But, I sure wouldn't test the theory!
I found no instances in the NTSB database in which a lightning strike destroyed an airframe. So either the experimental glass ships in the U.S. haven't been struck, or if they have been struck they've actually made it through. I suppose a third possibility is that the evidence hasn't been good enough for the NTSB to conclude that lightning caused an airframe failure. The UK glider incident sure makes you wonder. In any event, I'll have a good stormscope, which I hope means that the risk of being struck in IMC will be no greater than the risk of being struck in my backyard next to my grill. This weekend I flew within about 20 miles of a Tstorm in a Cardinal equipped with a stormscope. No lightning. No bumps. I'm hoping I'll continue to be able to do that in my ES.
I live in the DC area, which seems to me like the thunderstorm capital of the world. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone thinks the rule of thumb of staying 20 miles away from Tstorms should be revised when flying in glass. I really don't have any idea how likely lightning is that far from a storm cell.
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