Appendix A

INDICATED AIRSPEED

Indicated airspeed is the airspeed reading that the pilots sees on her airspeed
indicator (ASI) and is driven by the pitot-static system on board the aircraft. The
system uses the di erence between the total pressure (measured by the pitot probe)
and the static pressure (measured by the static ports) to determine the dynamic
pressure which is converted to an airspeed reading.

The pitot-static system works on the principle of Bernoulli’s equation which states that
an increase in the speed of a uid must simultaneously result in a drop in the uid’s
pressure, or a decrease in the uid’s potential energy.

The total pressure (also known as the stagnation pressure) is measured by the pitot
probe. The moving air enters the probe and is brought to rest by the geometry of the
probe.

The measured static pressure is the ambient pressure of the still air which is the
barometric pressure of the air at the aircraft’s current altitude. The static pressure is
not only used to calculate the airspeed but also the altitude (altimeter) and the vertical
speed (VSI) during ight. The static ports are always installed ush which ensures that
the port opening is inside the boundary layer where the air is not moving.

The airspeed is therefore calculated as follows:

The density term in the denominator is not a constant and varies with altitude and
temperature. However, the airspeed indicator in the cockpit is always calibrated to sea
level density on a standard day. Thus the actual airspeed (true airspeed) will vary
considerably from the indicated airspeed as the aircraft ies at higher altitudes and
di ering temperatures.

The big advantage of using IAS in the cockpit is that the aircraft will always stall at the
same indicated airspeed (for a given aircraft con guration) regardless of the altitude
or ambient temperature. This makes it much easier for a pilot to y the aircraft as the
critical speeds that de ne the operating envelope remain the same regardless of the
ambient conditions.

CALIBRATED AIRSPEED

Calibrated airspeed is the indicated airspeed corrected for instrument and position
error. This error is a function of both the quality of the pitot-static system used to
calculate the dynamic pressure as well as the location of the probe on the aircraft.

Positional errors result from the fact that the local velocity around an aircraft varies as
a result of the aircraft’s changing geometry. For example, the local velocity over the
upper surface of the wing is higher than below the wing in order for lift to be
produced. In reality there exists velocity gradients all over the aircraft, especially in
regions where there is substantial curvature (forward part of the fuselage, windshield,
wing surface).

Depending on the location of the pitot-static system, the measured dynamic pressure
measured may di er from the actual dynamic pressure due to local induced velocity
e ects. The o set between indicated and calibrated airspeed is usually published in
the aircraft operating manual in the form of a table. Here is an example of the
calibration performed for a two-seat light aircraft.
Calibration performed between Indicated Airspeed (IAS) and Calibrated Airspeed (CAS) for a two-seat
aircraft.

EQUIVALENT AIRSPEED

Equivalent airspeed is the calibrated airspeed corrected for compressibility e ects. It

is also de ned as the speed at sea level, under ISA conditions, that would produce the
same incompressible dynamic pressure that is produced at the true airspeed for the
given aircraft altitude. It is this de nition that makes EAS a useful airspeed
measurement for aeronautical engineers as it provides a convenient way to calculate
loading on the airframe, or handling qualities as the dynamic pressure provided is an
equivalent sea level pressure without the need to correct for altitude or temperature.

Indicated and Calibrated airspeed is based on the formulation of Bernoulli’s equation,

which assumes that the uid (air in this case) is incompressible. Bernoulli’s
experiments were performed in water where this assumption is valid, but
compressibility e ects in air start to become signi cant at Mach numbers above 0.3.
Divergence between CAS and EAS will be seen at speeds above 200 kts and altitudes
above 10 000 ft. CAS must therefore be corrected for compressibility e ects to
determine EAS as an intermediate step to calculate the True Airspeed (TAS).
Compressibility e ects can be accounted for through the calculation of the impact
pressure, which is a function of the Mach number.
The true airspeed is the speed that the aircraft travels relative to the air mass in which
it is ying. The true airspeed is equal to the ground speed in cases where there is no
wind, and is used mostly for ight planning and when quoting aircraft performance
speci cations. True airspeed can be calculated from either the equivalent airspeed, or
the Mach number if the outside air temperature (OAT) is known.
The Mach number is the ratio of the True Airspeed to the sonic speed. The speed of
sound in undisturbed air is a function only of temperature and not altitude as is often
mistakenly assumed. Of course the ambient temperature will decrease as altitude is
increased, leading to the reduction in the speed of sound as with increasing altitude.