paletteone
Airman 1st Class
- 105
- Jul 3, 2011
Dumb Question?
- Thread starter paletteone
- Start date
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vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Pitot Tube
N4521U
Colonel
Not an antennae, the pitot (pee-toe) tube picks up the air rushing into it for the air speed indicator on the instrument panel.
It's a hollow tube with rigid tubing all the way up to the instrument...... some A/C have two, for redundancy.
Somewhere on the outside of every A/C the is a little plate about the size of a silver dollar and it will have a small hole, or two. This also goes up to the instrument panel to the Altimeter, and it is just open to the atmosphere and changes the altimeter by the pressure of the air at altitude. One must NEVER run ones dirty finger over this hole as it may plug it up and this will add great confusion to the Auto Pilot, or the pilot if he gets into IFR conditions as the altimeter will not work properly in which case charts showing heights of obstructions mean very little.
And mate, there is never a Dumb question. Sometimes silly answers, but never a dumb question.
Cheers,
Bill
It's a hollow tube with rigid tubing all the way up to the instrument...... some A/C have two, for redundancy.
Somewhere on the outside of every A/C the is a little plate about the size of a silver dollar and it will have a small hole, or two. This also goes up to the instrument panel to the Altimeter, and it is just open to the atmosphere and changes the altimeter by the pressure of the air at altitude. One must NEVER run ones dirty finger over this hole as it may plug it up and this will add great confusion to the Auto Pilot, or the pilot if he gets into IFR conditions as the altimeter will not work properly in which case charts showing heights of obstructions mean very little.
And mate, there is never a Dumb question. Sometimes silly answers, but never a dumb question.
Cheers,
Bill
A4K
Brigadier General
The guys covered it, especially Bill. 
- Thread starter
- #5
paletteone
Airman 1st Class
- 105
- Jul 3, 2011
Thanks fellas! I always thought that the pitot tube was the little "L" shaped tube that you see on some aircraft. Obviously, pitot tubes come in different shapes and sizes. I'm glad I asked, you're never too old to learn something new, lol.
meatloaf109
1st Lieutenant
That sounds like a challenge.
Bet I could think of a few!
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
What's the velocity of a swallow .........
N4521U
Colonel
Let me see, Gulp......... not very fast, unless it's the last piece of lemon meringue pie!
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
African or European?
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Vroooooosh !
meatloaf109
1st Lieutenant
Laden or unladen? Coconuts anyone?
Pitot tubes can be in different places, and can be of different shaped designs. They don't have to be on the wing, straight or L shaped.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Wherever there's clean airflow.
With or without a coconut?
With or without a coconut?
michaelmaltby
Colonel
But most important .. pitot tubes have HEATED tips to prevent ice up ..... when AC first land the piot tube is the last place you want to use as a hand hold ...
MM
MM
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Good for warming up the doughnuts though………………..
meatloaf109
1st Lieutenant
Mmmm, donuts....
Hansie Bloeckmann
Senior Airman
Agreed, but bagels are a bit of a challenge for a pitot tube warmer op.
Yeah, that's right: I remember a story (not sure if it's true or not), but a DC-9 pilot doing the walk-around (or a mechanic doing some check) ended up blowing into the pitot-static system for some reason and since the CB's to the system were not pulled, he got a nice blister on his lips
This is called the static port and it actually runs to the altimeter, airspeed indicator, and vertical speed indicator to provide an ambient air pressure reference as devoid as possible of speed effects. When it's plugged, all three instruments start lying to you, and if it happens to you when you're in the soup (as it did to me) you better have your act together or have a gaurdian angel (as I did), or you'll likely find a cloud full of rocks. You'll never hear me badmouthing ATC controllers!
Cheers,
Wes
DON'T EVER blow into the pitot or static! Unless you're ready to buy a new set of instruments. Sure way to damage them. Mechanics do it sometimes, but only if the lines are disconnected at the instrument.
Cheers,
Wes
