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Look at the picture. Notice anything interesting?

Apparently, the static port was clogged by a bug that laid eggs in it.

Since pilots are supposed to be able to fly by feel, some flight instructors use partial-panel caps to block airspeed during primary training. My primary instructor wasn't one of them, so today was my first no-instrument landing.

Another thing: I am unable to find it in the official list of Oral Examination questions on the FAA exam, but it's common to ask what happens if static port gets plugged. The real life answer is that the altimeter shows the altitude at which it was plugged, but I do not recall the official answer ever mentioning the effect on the ASI. But as we see, the airspeed is measured by the difference between pitot and static pressure, and as the static pressure gets conserved, pitot pressure drops below it as the airplane climbs. Result is the zero airspeed. It could even go negative if the instrument allowed it.

As soon as the problem manifested, I made a circuit and landed. Fortunately, the plane was built with easily removable (albeit not folding) wings, and air pressure lines had QDs in them for that purpose. So, I unlated the QDs, then blew and sucked at the lines until they cleared. Once done, I put the lines together and went on my mission.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 07:39 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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