dell30rb
Final Approach
What are your personal habits when using pitot heat? On all the time from takeoff to landing? Or on condition?
Pitot Heat
- Thread starter dell30rb
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denverpilot
Tied Down
Condition. Pretty sure I didn't need it when it was 104F at 9500' over the desert near Las Vegas a few years back.
Whenever headed into visible moisture anywhere near freezing temperatures. No need to wear it out beyond that.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
....and end thread.
flyingmoose
Pattern Altitude
Mostly on condition, but if you want to leave it on all the time, have at it. Most bigger aircraft are on all the time with no ill effect.
Garthur
Pre-takeoff checklist
I had a bug smash itself into the end of the pitot tube when I was flying in a remote area of Canada. I first noticed it when my air speed indicator stopped working. I had to fly several hundred miles with out it.
I try to turn the pitot heat on when there is visible moisture but if I don't and it freezes, it's not a big deal.
I try to turn the pitot heat on when there is visible moisture but if I don't and it freezes, it's not a big deal.
HPNPilot1200
En-Route
In small airplanes its always a descretionary item based on condition. In the Citations that I fly, we turn it on for every flight just before takeoff. We have a 2 minute maximum limit on the ground to prevent the probes from being damaged.
dell30rb
Final Approach
When the bug smashed into your pitot, and you flew hundreds of miles without it, i'm guessing you were not IFR and in the clouds.
A frozen pitot is a big deal if you are in IMC. Too many accidents to list. Very disorienting until you figure it out, and even then it would be quite distracting.
I've had instructors tell me 'on condition' and others say that pitot heating elements are inexpensive, and they flip it on when they take the runway, and off when exiting - every time.
I'm pretty good about keeping up with temperature while flying so i've been doing the on-condition thing. However, I rarely ever need to turn it on or worry about ice, so I think I may be more likely to forget it one day.
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poadeleted20
Deleted
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Visible moisture below +5C = PH on.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
Not really. I've had it. Just referenced the GPS altimeter and ground speed indicator. Coupled with RPM and pitch, it was a non issue.
dell30rb
Final Approach
Were you in IMC when it froze? i'm sure there was a WTF moment leading up to that
flyingmoose
Pattern Altitude
Well I guess that we should now just assume that everyone has GPS altimeter and GS to rely on when they get themselves into a situation that they shouldn't have gotten into to begin with. Using those tools is a great option if: you have it, and you need it.
It is a big deal. We can marginalize things all we want.
dell30rb
Final Approach
A frozen pitot does not affect anything but your airspeed. Altimeter still works fine.
I have full confidence in my ability to fly a plane in IMC without airspeed or groundspeed info. I've flown around plenty under the hood with it covered up. However I also realize that a frozen pitot will be extremely disorienting and dangerous until you recognize the failure. And I would consider it an emergency.
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flyingmoose
Pattern Altitude
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
Yep. In IMC. NO WTF moment because I knew it was probably coming. I noticed I was picking up some ice, but the pitot and the static were still OK. I checked the groundspeed and GPS altimeter before they froze over. I watched the airspeed get higher and higher even though I was S&L. Then watched it go to 0 while the altimeter froze. I asked for a different altitude and descended without much incident. Had I not been accumulating additional ice, it would not have been that big of a deal to continue. When I got lower and warmer temps my airspeed came alive and the altimeter snapped to my current altitude. I was off 100' on my guess based on GPS altitude. The horror.
After that flight, I did have pitot heat and alternate static installed though.
A big deal to some is not a big deal to others. There are people that would never fly XC at night, or over water, or without a working autopilot even if VMC. To me it wasn't a big deal. The plane didn't know that the airspeed was reading 0.
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Dead Stick
Line Up and Wait
Not quite so fast Skippy.
It all depends upon what you're flying. If you're flying a jet or turboprop the pitot/static heat comes on when you're taking the runway for takeoff and they don't come off until after you've landed. Back when I was flying pressurized piston twins, that was SOP as well.
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Velocity173
Same as Ron said. Our aircraft manual requires pitot heat and engine anti-ice on when operating in visible moisture and 5 degrees or less. Also while a clogged pitot tube on a light GA aircraft isn't really much of a factor, some complex larger aircraft rely on airspeed for automatic systems to operate. For instance, in the UH-60, clogged pitot tubes could send a 0 airspeed signal to the stabilator. This would cause it to slew full down. If this happens in flight at a high enough speed, you could lose pitch authority. So the importance on airspeed and pitot heat really depends on aircraft and weather.
slacktide
Line Up and Wait
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Dan
I don't consider $1000 - $2000 "inexpensive." The heater element in your typical AN5812 or AN5813 is not replaceable.
Headspace
Pre-Flight
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Headspace
For single/piston it goes on when in visible moisture if there could be the possibility of freezing. This is going entirely by what my CFIs have told me; it doesn't seem unreasonable to follow that policy in those airplanes.
With some larger turbine aircraft, pitot heat is supposed to be on 100% of the time during flight.
With some larger turbine aircraft, pitot heat is supposed to be on 100% of the time during flight.
Graueradler
Pattern Altitude
Pitot heat on a Cherokee is also static heat. Frozen static port locks indicated altitude at the altitude you were at when it froze over.
dell30rb
Final Approach
That's a nice feature. I thought static ports were less prone to freezing - most aircraft have no static heat.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
It's on the back side of the pitot stack.
Headspace
Pre-Flight
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Headspace
The cherokee pitot/static system terminates at a finlike blade underneath the left wing. The term "pitot heat" doesn't make it immediately obvious how much effect the heat would have on the static port, but the whole fin gets warm when the heat is on. A lot of cherokees often have an alternate static inside the cockpit.
dell30rb
Final Approach
On the bottom of the fin I thought
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
Dead Stick
Line Up and Wait
Please say "many light aircraft have no static heat" because quite a few do and just about all aircraft above 12,500 pounds do as well.
jnmeade
Cleared for Takeoff
Running it from take-off to touchdown has the advantage that it's in a regular part of the checklist or flow and it's on if you need it, but you can damage it if you get delayed on takeoff or forget to turn it off. Running it on condition is fully adequate and we hope we would always think to turn it on before entering appropriate conditions and turn it off before too much ground time after landing.
In the jet it was always on, in the 210 it was on condition, in the CTSW I don't got on.
In the jet it was always on, in the 210 it was on condition, in the CTSW I don't got on.