A-INST1-02

Pressure Sensing
2
BRIEFING
SAFETY TIME
 Perception
P Perceiving the status, attributes, and dynamics
of relevant elements in the environment.
(Airspeed, position, altitude, route, weather,
ATC, etc)

Comprehension
C Comprehension of the situation and
understanding the significance of the elements
in light of the pilot´s goals.

Projection
P Projection of future actions of the elements in
BRIEFING the environment. Achieved through knowledge of

SITUATIONAL the status and dynamics of the elements.

AWARENESS
Decision making
D Cognitive process of selecting a course of action
from among multiple alternatives. Select,
Assess, Check SOPs.

Slide 4/
 General Objectives:

Optimize Flight Safety

• Aquire the necessary knowledge of
the different technologies affecting our
equipment.

Improve Situational
awareness
• To learn about our aircraft systems in

BRIEFING order to identify and understand our

instruments .

Improve decision
making skills
• To understand instrument´s readings
and behaviours depending on the
situation.

Slide 5/
 SKILLS:
• Understand instruments basic
principles.
• possibilities and usefulness in an
aviation environment.

BRIEFING ATTITUDES:
SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVES • Decision making in relation to
instrument interpretation.

Slide 6/
 Knowledge Objectives:

• 01 • Sensing
BRIEFING
SPECIFIC • 02 • Errors
OBJECTIVES
• 03 • Introduction

• 04 • Pressure
Introduction

Aircraft instruments that rely on sensing air

pressure are:
Altimeter.
Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI).
Air Speed Indicator (ASI).
Machmeter.
Pressure

Pressure is the amount of force applied per unit

area.
Pressure = Force / Area
SI units:
Force: newtons (N).
Area: squared meters (m2).
Pressure: Pascal (Pa).
Pressure Units - Aviation

Pascal - 1Newton per squared meter.

1 hPa = 100 Pa.
Bar - Approximate value of sea level pressure.
1 millibar = one thousand of a bar.
1 millibar is equal to 1 hPa
1 bar = 1000 mb = 1000 hPa = 100 000 Pa.
Pressure Units - Aviation

Inches of Mercury (inHg).

Used in North America for atmospheric pressure.
ISA SL pressure = 1013.25 hPa = 1013.25 mb.
= 29.92 inHg.
Pounds per square inch (psi).
Used for oil, hydraulic, cabin differential and tyre
pressures.
Static Air Pressure

Air has mass.

The atmosphere is many kilometres high so the weight of
the air above exerts pressure on the air below it.
Air is a fluid so this pressure is felt in all directions.
Known as ambient, atmospheric or static pressure.
Static pressure reduces with increasing height above the
Earth.
•Measuring Static Pressure
Total Pressure

A moving mass of air has a total pressure which is

the sum of static pressure and pressure created
from kinetic energy.
When air encounters an object and is brought to a
complete stop, almost all of its kinetic energy is
converted to heat and pressure energy.
Known as the stagnation pressure or total pressure.
•Pitot (Stagnation) Pressure
Dynamic Pressure

The pressure exclusively caused by the movement of the

air.
Can’t be measured directly because pitot pressure also
includes the static pressure of the atmosphere.
To obtain the value of dynamic pressure, the contribution
from static pressure must be removed.
Pitot = Static + Dynamic.
Dynamic = Pitot - Static.
Dynamic Pressure
Kinetic energy of the air doesn’t just depend on its velocity, it
also depends on the mass of air being moved.

Formula for kinetic energy is:

The mass of a gas is expressed as its density. So the dynamic

pressure of air is given by the formula:

Where ρ is the air density and V is the speed of the air (the true
air speed).
Measurement Methods
Pitot pressure measured by placing a tube parallel to
the airflow with its forward end open.
Static pressure is measured by a port that is at right
angles to the airflow.
Dynamic pressure cannot be directly measured.
Both a static source and a pitot source are used.
Measuring the differential pressure between them
provides dynamic pressure.
•Pitot Tubes
https://youtu.be/sYPIJ8Vz-FI

20
 PITOT TUBE
Senses total pressure Pt = Ps+Pd
Fitted to airframe, opening facing airflow
directly
Drain Hole to leak away moisture
Heater to prevent icing
At least 2 on most commercial aircrafts (3 on
A330)
Minimal disturbance: nose, wingtip, pylon…

21
 STATIC SOURCE
Slightly downward for drainage
not painted
direction of airflow may vary: Position Error
(Pressure)
Static balancing fitting vents on either side of
the airplane
Standby system
Blockage of pitot affects ASI

22
 Combined Pitot / Static
Complication of separate gauges
On light aircraft…On pylon below the wing
Static through holes 90º to airflow

23
 PITOT/STATIC SYSTEM
Pressure measurement for pressure instruments

24
•Static Ports
 STATIC SOURCE
Ambient pressure of air mass
around a/c

unaffected by air flow

obtained via static vent

undisturbed and perpendicular to

airflow

26
Combined Pressure Head

Includes pitot head and a static source on same

probe.
Simple, cheap solution for light aircraft.
•Source by Instrument

Instrument Pitot Source Required? Static Source Required?

Altimeter No Yes

Vertical Speed Indicator No Yes

Air Speed Indicator Yes Yes

Machmeter Yes Yes

Errors
4 errors that are common to all traditional mechanical
pressure instruments:
Instrument errors - mechanical instruments have imperfections
caused by play in the linkages, mechanical imperfections and
friction.
Manoeuvre errors - caused by changes in the pressure
envelope around the aircraft when it manoeuvres.
Position error - predictable errors in the values of pitot and static
pressure, caused by change in airflow direction at the
sensing point, when angle of attack varies with airspeed in level
flight
Static system error - caused by friction in the small tubes used
to connect the static ports to the instruments. In CAT aircraft
almost null.
Position error is predictable and not too complex…

Air Data Computer or ADIRU applies corrections automatically

 Blocked Pitot Tube
Will only affect airspeed indications (senses total
pressure)
Incorrectly display an increase in airspeed when the
aircraft climbs (similar way to altimeter)
PT remains constant and PS decreases due to climb.
(greater difference)

31
 Blocked Static Port
Affects all pitot-static instruments
Altimeter: Freezes at constant value
VSI: gradually return to zero
Airspeed: Reverse of an altimeter. Less
indication climbing and over-reported when
descending.

32
Partial Blockage of static port
Obstruction slows the airflow
Altimeter: Descending may indicate that the
aircraft is higher
VSI: Less rate than desired. Reference
pressure in not changing at the same rate as
the outside air pressure.
Airspeed: Indicates higher airspeed than
actual.

33
•B787 Pitot Probes
1. Ice detector
2. Multi-function probe
3. Static port
4. TAT probe
5. Side-slip vane
6. Pitot
7. AoA

35
The Need for Remote Sensing

Pitot and static pressure sensors are very sensitive

to disturbances in airflow so they always have to be
mounted well away from the cockpit instruments
that they supply.
Pressure instruments are almost always remote
sensing devices.
Modern Aircraft Sensing Systems

Use solid-state micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)

sensors.
Contain strain-sensitive piezoresistors.
When pressure is applied, the resistance changes,
sensed by a small computer, often called an air data
module (ADM), using a small current.
ADM converts the resistance to a digital value and
transmits it to the aircraft data bus for use by all systems
needing it.
•MEMS Type Pressure Sensor

Light and reliable

•Multi-function Probe
SSIs - Boeing, SSA - Airbus

Measure the non-axial airflow angle caused caused by

aircraft manoeuvre and asymmetric flight.
Act like AoA vanes mounted horizontally on the front of
the aircraft, typically just below the windscreens.
Measure sideslip accurately; computers compensate for
the error.
Data is also used by autopilot and EFIS systems.
•SSIs - Boeing
System Redundancy
With digital systems,
data is shared and,
when necessary,
substituted.
Markedly improves
system redundancy.
DEBRIEFING
SAFETY TIME
UNRELIABLE SPEED INDICATIONS
Complete or partial blockages of pitot heads and static ports can confuse and may be
caused by:
In-Flight Icing
Insects
Volcanic Ash
Heavy rain
Crude Oil Smoke
Failure to remove maintenance seals or protective covers
Failure to select pitot static heat on
Damage to the radome/nose cone of an aircraft causing erroneous pitot and
static information.

44
UNRELIABLE SPEED INDICATIONS
EFFECTS
If the pitot probe is blocked but the pitot drain and static ports are free, then
in straight and level (cruising) flight the displayed IAS will tend to reduce,
eventually indicating zero.
If the pitot probe and pitot drain are blocked but the static port is free then the
IAS will increase during a steady climb and decrease during a steady
descent.
If the pitot probe, pitot drain, and static ports are all blocked then the IAS
will remain constant despite changes in actual airspeed..
If the static vent only is blocked, then the altimeter will freeze on the altitude
that the blockage occurred, the VSI will show zero climb or descent, and the IAS
will over-read in the descent or under-read in the climb.

45
 AIR FRANCE 447 CRASH
https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/
A332,_en-route,_Atlantic_Ocean,_2009

https://youtu.be/rZv9ff_gWi0 46
47