Saw this on another website:



Not than anyone here really needs an ASI...

Is that wasp having sex with that pitot

Well, if I put on the pitot cover, I'll keep the wasp out--but what if he/she (can't tell which) was sucked in while in flight? If I put my pitot cover on to keep the little dickens out of there in flight, my airspeed won't work! Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions.

Cary

Glidergeek wrote:Is that wasp having sex with that pitot

Or is that pitot having sex with that wasp?

Spring is the primary pitot tube breeding season. In this day and age it pays to keep it covered.

Yeah, who knows what diseases are prevented by using a properly fitted pitot cover?

Cary

I have actually centered on a wasp halfway down the runway of a grass strip. Airspeed went to zero, so I came around and landed. Fished the little sucker out with a piece of safety wire, he was still alive! Mud daubers are very active in parts of the country, so even in a hanger you need to keep them covered. They also like fuel vent lines, so you can lose power from a decent dauber attack. Somebody actually tried to kill everyone on board a Marshals Service 340. They put dumbo up the vent lines and pushed it up an inch or two. Both engines died at altitude about 30 minutes into the flight. Lucky for them they dead sticked into a field. Mud daubers do it all the time.

Great...

So my choices are bugs plugging stuff up, or putting on a pitot cover.

Either way I take off and have no ASI. One choice just gives me a loud banging noise from red streamers flapping against the bottom of the wing.

Gump

You kinda get used to the occasional flight without an ASI in Aus.. Those damn mud wasps get into everything! A plastic spark plug tube with a cloth strip stapled to it makes a great pitot cover..

I once fished a set of teeth from the rudder limiter pitot on a B717, I'm pretty sure they belonged to a fruit bat. Nailed him right in the kisser at 400kts!

And then you get the customers come in with a cabin full of glass fragments... You mean I shouldn't have blown 100psi up the pitot to get the bug out..??

Just get one of the metal covers. Then you only need to worry about it freezing shut which they do.

I've used one those flip up things for years. I never thought about it freezing up, but I probably wouldn't be flying in conditions like that anyway. Not having an airspeed indicator is no big deal if you don't know it. In other words if you don't notice it's out and you just fly the plane as usual. Once you KNOW it's out, it messes with your head! My experience anyway, when I neglected to re-connect my pitot feed line after doing some work on the plane, no fault of the pitot flip up cover. Like a forced/deadstick landing, every few years, (been 17 yrs since my last one, I'm getting due) good to know you can still deal with it.

I think I'll go out in the hangar and tape my pitot shut

mountainmatt wrote:

Glidergeek wrote:Is that wasp having sex with that pitot

Or is that pitot having sex with that wasp?

Either way that wasp was F&*#@*

Had a Maule crop duster ex Missouri come through here once.
It sat wing low on the ramp. It flew out of rig. In my search to straighten it out, I removed the wingtip to check for bent spars.
There was the problem. Mud, set like concrete, nearly 60 lbs of it. Very difficult to remove.

courierguy wrote:.....Not having an airspeed indicator is no big deal if you don't know it. In other words if you don't notice it's out and you just fly the plane as usual. Once you KNOW it's out, it messes with your head! .......

I once had one of those little flip-up pitot covers fail in the down position on my old C170. Didn't notice the lack of airspeed indication until well off the ground, then (like CG says) I couldn't take my eyes off it. Tried a dive to get enough airspeed to blow the flipper up-- no good. Turned out that the rivet thing that holds the flapper on was binding-- a well-engineered safety-wire installation to replace the rivet fixed it for good.

If you haven't done it since your primary training, go out with someone qualified and try some partial panel. Cover up the ASI and do some practice. It's amazing how your sense of hearing takes over, not to mention the seat of your pants feeling for that sink. This is purely a VFR perspective.

I learned to fly in an aircraft where the only airspeed indication was my face and my ears

courierguy wrote:Not having an airspeed indicator is no big deal if you don't know it. In other words if you don't notice it's out and you just fly the plane as usual. Once you KNOW it's out, it messes with your head!

Yes, don't fixate on the airspeed, just fly the airplane.

I entered the pattern to land behind a student in a retractable doing stop and gos. They usually sit on the runway a while, to talk about it I guess.

Anyhow, I figured no big deal I'll just pull the speed back to about 40 mph and hang on down wind while they decide to take off. I glanced at the ASI when the kitfox started to feel like about 45 mph but it said 73. It didn't sink in to me that the ASI needle was stuck so I kept slowing down until I felt the stall buffet.

I got out of the pattern to go fly around to figure it out. When I sped up the airspeed would climb above 70 but when I slowed down it wouldn't drop below 70. I figured there must be a bug in the pitot and it might be messing with my altimiter too.

I headed back to the airport to land and fixated on the altimiter this time. When I started descending to pattern altitude the ground seemed to be gitting close and I still fixated on the altimiter and the ground got even closer. Finally figured out I wasn't reading it correctly, it was working fine, I was just 1000 feet lower than my brain was seeing on the altimiter.

This time I was glad those guys were in front of me. I had time to sort out the stuck ASI. I don't pay much attention to it until I turn final then slow to 50 mph. I might have tried to slow it down more and cause a stall on final.

Here's a picture. It took me a while to see the problem. How long do you have to stare at it to see it?

tcj wrote: It took me a while to see the problem. How long do you have to stare at it to see it?

Just about 5 seconds. Wow, that's a new one.

EB

I noticed it right away as well. That is a new one. I think if I were in the aor and not sitting here looking at a pictire it would take me a little while longer to notice.

Went to flight training this morning, -20C outside. During preflight I noticed the pitot cover wasn't installed, and the plane had been sitting there for the week (not a busy flight school). Having this thread fresh in my memory, I took a close look to see if any ice or snow had formed. All looked clear.

During takeoff roll, the airspeed never came alive. Abort takeoff, return to apron, idled with pitot heat for 5 min. Second attempt, airspeed came alive. Which is good, it was beautiful clear skies, and I wanted some hours.