Leak Testing your Aircraft's Pitot-Static System

[Dan 57]

My home field is prone to fog in the Winter season... and we're having loads of it this as I speak.
The upside being the time left to complete upgrades to one's ship, or mini-projects, such as this one

The talk here is about leak testing one's pitot and static system, which is performed following any disconnection of either system. HomebuiltHELP now offers this vid explaining the simple procedure using a plastic syringe, and this is the method I've been using successfully for a few years now...

As I was getting tired of trying to get hold of the non-resident avionics guy to beg for the use of his static/dynamic adapters, I decided to make my own... making it more difficult is my use of a blade pitot probe type (and it's conical shape), and the typical use of flush static ports. A couple of cheap suction cups, aluminum bar, steel tubing, a couple of rivnuts and harware, and it all works pretty good, and all fits as a kit in a disused toolbox, good stuff.

 

[uk_figs]

Cool setup, I got fed up trying to get the the suction mount to reliably seal the static port for the IFR test last year and put a fitting in the static line that the test box could directly connect with, easy to tape over the ports. Worked very well and was based on another thread on here about the same issue.

 

[HFS]

Cool setup, I got fed up trying to get the the suction mount to reliably seal the static port for the IFR test last year and put a fitting in the static line that the test box could directly connect with, easy to tape over the ports. Worked very well and was based on another thread on here about the same issue.

… furthermore, put a fitting in the pitot circuit also - much easier to service with a syringe or certificated test equipment w/o the possibility of having a “leak” from “breaking” into an already leak free system.

To complete the test cycle, just tape over all pitot/static ports prior to initiation of tests & have very “soft” hands on your syringe so as not to damage your gauges, they are very sensitive and it doesn’t take much to damage them …

HFS

 

[Dan 57]

funny how your remarks triggered memories. I now recall how in the A/P school they taught us the same procedure on a Douglas DC-8 (think it was a -62).
The procedure was taught as a last resort method in case of non-availability of a test gear, and iso a syringe, a long rubber hose, part of the flight kit, was used. This hose was then un/rolled on itself to recreate the +/- of air P.
As mentioned by @HFS one had to be careful in not letting the pressure or suction escape too fast, lest damage to the then all mechanical and sensitive instruments would occur...

 

[scsmith]

One thing to watch out for that cost me most of a day of hand-wringing.
Many fancy pitot-static tubes have a small water drain hole in the pitot tube circuit on the bottom of the strut. I didn't know that and spent a good bit of time chasing a leak. I narrowed it down to the pitot-static tube body itself. I called the manufacturer, and the person was like, "oh, yeah, there's a drain hole in it. You have to seal that with tape during the test."
Sigh.