Ron Lee
Well Known Member
On my way home from Toledo Sunday my first (of three) fuel stops was at Kankakee IL. As I leveled out at pattern altitude I glanced at the airspeed indicator at it was at zero. I looked again to make sure that I was seeing it right and yes, it was zero.
I pondered what might be happening. This is a old style 6-pack airspeed indicator. There was a lot of rain while it sat outside. Some of that got into the airplane somehow. But I hangared it the night before to keep the oil temp up.
Did water somehow get in the system and freeze or into the instrument?
I did not know so I did two things. One was make a mental note of the ground winds so that I could use the GPS ground speed as an aid for airspeed and I changed the runway from the short one to the long one.
I just came in a bit faster than normal in case the seat of my pants were off that day and bled off excess airspeed in the flare over the runway. No problem.
When I got on the ground I found the pitot tube (aluminum tube) bent back about 70 degrees. I made a viable field repair using aircraft grade duct tape and coffee stirrers for additional rigidity and it worked just fine until I returned home.
Once home, I made a permanent repair and a spare pitot tube that is now in my on board tool box.
I suspect that the occasional bumping of the pitot tube by my dog and subsequent straightening caused a fatigue that finally manifested itself on this flight.
Field repair assessment: The aircraft grade duct tape was probably fine but the coffee stirrers lacked adequate rigidity. Splintered popsicle sticks (aircraft grade of course) would have been better.
I pondered what might be happening. This is a old style 6-pack airspeed indicator. There was a lot of rain while it sat outside. Some of that got into the airplane somehow. But I hangared it the night before to keep the oil temp up.
Did water somehow get in the system and freeze or into the instrument?
I did not know so I did two things. One was make a mental note of the ground winds so that I could use the GPS ground speed as an aid for airspeed and I changed the runway from the short one to the long one.
I just came in a bit faster than normal in case the seat of my pants were off that day and bled off excess airspeed in the flare over the runway. No problem.
When I got on the ground I found the pitot tube (aluminum tube) bent back about 70 degrees. I made a viable field repair using aircraft grade duct tape and coffee stirrers for additional rigidity and it worked just fine until I returned home.
Once home, I made a permanent repair and a spare pitot tube that is now in my on board tool box.
I suspect that the occasional bumping of the pitot tube by my dog and subsequent straightening caused a fatigue that finally manifested itself on this flight.
Field repair assessment: The aircraft grade duct tape was probably fine but the coffee stirrers lacked adequate rigidity. Splintered popsicle sticks (aircraft grade of course) would have been better.
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