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To: calex59

What is a pitot tube? Just curious.


43 posted on 06/21/2009 4:58:27 PM PDT by penelopesire ("The only CHANGE you will get with the Democrats is the CHANGE left in your pocket")
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To: penelopesire

A pitot tube measures airspeed which is essential to keeping a plane in the air. If they fail to work a plane could easily crash.


48 posted on 06/21/2009 5:11:46 PM PDT by calex59
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To: penelopesire
What is a pitot tube? Just curious.

As the other poster told you, it's a device for measuring airspeed. It works by measuring the difference between the stagnation pressure and the "flow" pressure. It's just a pointy tube with two tubes inside. One leads to a hole at the tip, pointing in the direction of flight (more or less) the other pointing perpendicular to that. Some have just the hole in the tip and they get their static pressue from elsewhere on the aircraft. In one case the airflow is stopped at the pressure device, that's the one that measures stagnation pressure, the other one has the air blowing across it rather than into it. That one is measuring the static pressure.

A real pitot tube. (With protective cover installed)

Another example:


67 posted on 06/21/2009 7:34:47 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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