****How hostile does an environment have to be before it hurts a solid piece
of metal?****

Antennas corrode from the inside out, or from the outside in, and just like
everything on an airframe, have a finite lifespan. How old is the antenna?
Was the old antenna even placed in the right place on the airframe? A lot of
times they were not, even from the factory.

http://www.seqair.com/skunkworks/Ant...xAntProbs.html

http://www.bedichek.org/cirrus.html

Besides, transponder antennas are cheap, in the realm of aviation.


Karl
just off a 9000 nm flight in 36 hrs.