Do I need to install a heated pitot?

FORANE

FORANE

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FORANE
Our RV-9A does not have pitot heat. Do I need to install one? After all, it is not required for IFR flight, correct? Just required for flight into known icing, and we are not doing that...

In the years of flying my Lancair I have experienced a frozen static system but never a frozen pitot. Thought it was once after the avionics installer put in an EFIS and excluded the pitot from the system - whoops. So, in spite of flying in icing conditions transiently, I have never actually needed to activate pitot heat. I know, some may say I should have activated the pitot heat before entering said conditions... This is not a thread about when pitot heat should be used. It is a question of if I need to install a heated pitot in the RV-9A.

We intend to use the RV for VFR flights, IFR training, and eventually some IFR flights but not into known icing. What say you?
 
I fly vfr only in my -10. I like flying high and many times below freezing. One never knows when you might need it. It cost about 0.3% of my plane. Most of us never plan on going inadvertent IMC, but it happens. If anything, install a 14 ga wire from panel to non-heated pitot and leave a nice loop on each end.
 
My vote is no. Ive done a lot of flying all VFR. Never came close to an issue, but there is always a chance.
 
FORANE said:
Our RV-9A does not have pitot heat. Do I need to install one? After all, it is not required for IFR flight, correct? Just required for flight into known icing, and we are not doing that...

In the years of flying my Lancair I have experienced a frozen static system but never a frozen pitot. Thought it was once after the avionics installer put in an EFIS and excluded the pitot from the system - whoops. So, in spite of flying in icing conditions transiently, I have never actually needed to activate pitot heat. I know, some may say I should have activated the pitot heat before entering said conditions... This is not a thread about when pitot heat should be used. It is a question of if I need to install a heated pitot in the RV-9A.

We intend to use the RV for VFR flights, IFR training, and eventually some IFR flights but not into known icing. What say you?
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If you fly IFR chances are you'll find yourself inside a cloud with temps below 0 C and when you do you'll wish you had pitot heat. So for the "eventual IFR" I think it's a very good idea and well worth the cost. But for VFR flight I suspect it would be unnecessary.
 
I think it's nice to have one and not use it then not have one and need it.
 
I realized since posting this question that the Pro Pilot autopilot is tied into the pitot. As such, if the indicated airspeed exceeds or decreases beyond set limits the autopilot will fail in vertical pitch. This would be undesirable in the soup.
Combine that above with the fact that I already have a spare heated pitot probe and I am leaning toward just putting it in. Now it would be a question of what pitot mast to get.
 
I used the Falcon Pitot w/the longer mast from ACS.
 
RV10flyer said:
I used the Falcon Pitot w/the longer mast from ACS.
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I was wondering about the longer mast. The "L" shaped tube that is the current pitot is very long - maybe 5-6 inches from the wing. Is that long of a mast really required? Looks like extra drag, weight and even somewhat comical extending from the wing that far.
 
I can tell you that my IAS is accurate within 2 kts except in the landing flare. My IAS at stall is about 7 kts higher due to the pressure/velocity increase between the wing and runway surface. I rarely look at airspeed once I start to flare. My navigator will note it occasionally. I don't look at it much other than preflight/postflight, too tall to walk under it and don't really know how short one could go with the mast before IAS would be affected. I guess one could install the .063" doubler and the shorter one with nutplates. Easy enough to change that way.
 
If you have any intention of ever flying in IMC I would personally install one. FWIW, I have iced up a pitot tube in VMC.

I've needed it in IMC numerous times. It doesn't take much to ice up the pitot tube, it can happen long before you are concerned about airframe ice.
 
jesse said:
If you have any intention of ever flying in IMC I would personally install one. FWIW, I have iced up a pitot tube in VMC.

I've needed it in IMC numerous times. It doesn't take much to ice up the pitot tube, it can happen long before you are concerned about airframe ice.
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Fair enough.
I just ordered a pitot mast and will go ahead with the install.
I fly IFR and would not want to experience frozen pitot even with GPS derived airspeed present. Strange that I have not had it occur yet. I am very conservative flying around icing conditions, but have experienced airframe ice on many occasions.
This is my wifes plane who is not yet instrument rated. She would not be happy with a loss of indicated airspeed even VFR. There is a saying about if mama isn't happy...
 
FORANE said:
...I am very conservative flying around icing conditions, but have experienced airframe ice on many occasions...
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Unless you have boots and heated props, that sentence is BS.
 
JHW said:
Unless you have boots and heated props, that sentence is BS.
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That's a bit of a reach without looking at the specifics of each flight.
 
jesse said:
That's a bit of a reach without looking at the specifics of each flight.
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that's not what "many occasions" means to me. In 25 years and 6000 some hours, counting times I was in a non-equipped plane, was trying to avoid icing and got it anyway, I count once. I may be a neophute at this flying game compared to many on here but I know self-delusion when I hear it.
 
jesse said:
That's a bit of a reach without looking at the specifics of each flight.
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Right, perhaps I might have made myself more clear when I said conservative. I never fly into known ice. I never plan to climb through icing conditions unless there is a safe "out" below said conditions. I do consider flying in icing conditions with plenty of warm air below that is above MEA, MORA, etc to be conservative.
 
JHW said:
which one is it ?
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Known ice is defined by the FAA I believe. Is it not defined as actual accretion to an airframe rather than flight in potential icing conditions?
 
JHW said:
that's not what "many occasions" means to me. In 25 years and 6000 some hours, counting times I was in a non-equipped plane, was trying to avoid icing and got it anyway, I count once. I may be a neophute at this flying game compared to many on here but I know self-delusion when I hear it.
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There are plenty of times where there are layers that aren't very thick that you know can easily be climbed through with multiple out options, and no serious icing threats other then perhaps picking up a trace during your minute or so of exposure. Plenty more scenarios available as well that I wouldn't call reckless but will result in picking up some degree of ice.
 
jesse said:
There are plenty of times where there are layers that aren't very thick that you know can easily be climbed through with multiple out options, and no serious icing threats other then perhaps picking up a trace during your minute or so of exposure. Plenty more scenarios available as well that I wouldn't call reckless but will result in picking up some degree of ice.
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no disagreement. That is choosing to take a risk flying in ice. I do it too. I have many times flown through a thin layer expecting to pick up a little in my travel air with the tiny 4-bangers for power. I have also tried the same in a plane with inop deice and 2500hp on each wing, and was lucky to live to say that was stupid. Point being, during none of these times did I deceive myself into saying "i never fly in ice, whoops that happened by accident". I knew going in that i was taking a chance and I chose to give it a shot.
 
JHW said:
no disagreement. That is choosing to take a risk flying in ice. I do it too. I have many times flown through a thin layer expecting to pick up a little in my travel air with the tiny 4-bangers for power. I have also tried the same in a plane with inop deice and 2500hp on each wing, and was lucky to live to say that was stupid. Point being, during none of these times did I deceive myself into saying "i never fly in ice, whoops that happened by accident". I knew going in that i was taking a chance and I chose to give it a shot.
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Yep. If you end up in icing without knowing that it was a possibility, you didn't do very good pre-flight planning in my opinion.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Yep. If you end up in icing without knowing that it was a possibility, you didn't do very good pre-flight planning in my opinion.
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I believe I can say every time I ended up in icing I know it was a possibility. Of course knowing that I also had a solid escape plan in place beforehand too.
 
I would definitely add the pitot heat.

Ice can happen when you are not expecting it. Caught me unawares a few weeks ago. I was on the ramp sweating my butt off in the bahamas and 30 minutes later i'm at 8 or 9000' frantically reaching for the pitot heat switch. I flew through a rain cloud and the temp dropped from 6 or 7C to -1 in 15 seconds.

I knew not to fly through a cumulus cloud in cooler temps, but now the lesson has been reinforced with experience.
 
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