[Rick6a]

It's astounding how much the cost of pitot tubes has increased since I puchased mine in 2000. For the next project I may install one of the latest catalog offerings from Wicks.

POLISHED ALUMINUM PITOT TUBE
Polished Aluminum Pitot Tube. Base is 30 mm X 17 mm. Pitot Length 125mm, Height 95 mm. 4 mm holes at base. Note: Insert 1/4" Aluminum Tube at angle otherwise thread may strip. Bend inserted tube as required. Tube not supplied. Price: $49.99

Can anyone comment on real time experience with this part?

Rick Galati RV-6A "Darla"

 

[gmcjetpilot]

Looks beautiful

But.....

I just saw that in wicks catalog. No doubt sexy. Looks like the Pitot on the side of the B757. Compared to stock it is a hands down winner in the looks dept. However cost, weight and installation are more. As far as look you don't really see it on the ground and in flight, who cares unless doing some air to air. My point is does the cool looks justify the added weight, cost and installation over the stock tube?

Accuracy? I am sure it is OK. The pitot accounts for none to a small amount of error in airspeed. The static ports is the source of most A/S error. However with that said, the pretty tube is only 4 inches below the wing (95 mm). That is a little close. Too close? Again not enough to worry about and you should know what your CAS is thru flight test, but Van's plans call for much more distance below the wing. The greater the distance the better. For me I am going with the stock setup with some aerodynamic treatment to the tube (taking the bare tube and making it into an airfoil shape).

The Wicks pitot looks good, but I don't think it is necessary. Keep your RV light, simple and to the plans. Also one advantage of having a stock tube is it can bend easy, so if the tube gets hung up on something, you don't damage the wing. Unlikely but possible and happened to a friend who got too close to an airport sign. The tube was bent, but het just bent it back. Of course replacement is about $0.99 worth of aluminum tube.

George

 

[rv7 2003]

Vans pitot is stainless I think. At least the one I recieved from them is.
The beauty of homebuilding is in the custom finishes we see on some aircraft. The wicks pitot does look the part, but to me the Vans one is fine. If you like the wicks part use it. Remember it is so much easier to do installs while building than to do retrofits.

 

[gmcjetpilot]

Option SS tube

Vans pitot is stainless I think. At least the one I recieved from them is.

Yes that is the optional one in the catalog, the stock one is formed from aluminum tube. May be they made the stainless unit standard kit part? G