Something has been bothering me and it has nothing to do with LOP PDA’s MFD’s, gross weight and anything important like that there.
I was just wonderin’:
What is the origin of word, “Pitot Tube”. Who was it named after? Has its design changed over the years and why is it most often located on the left wing? AND what is the correct pronunciation. peetot or peetote or peedote (I guess it all depends where your from, you all.
In reply to:
What is the origin of word, “Pitot Tube”. Who was it named after?
The Pitot tube (named after Henri Pitot in 1732) measures a fluid velocity by converting the kinetic energy of the flow into potential energy.
Walt
In reply to:
The Pitot tube (named after Henri Pitot in 1732)
I didn’t realize that there were airplanes back then. Boy won’t Orville be surprised.
Well, why is located where it is. Is there a scientific basis.
I didn’t realize that there were airplanes back then. Boy won’t Orville be surprised. Well, why is located where it is. Is there a scientific basis.
The history of fluid dynamics in general, and aerodynamics in particular, is much older than the history of flight. (In John D. Anderson’s http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0521669553/A History of Aerodynamics, the Wright Brothers don’t show up until page 201.) In the 18th century, Henri Pitot developed the device that bears his name to measure the speed of water flow. He was the first to show that as you go deeper beneath the surface of a river, the flow velocity decreases. (The prevailing opinion at the time had been that the flow velocity actually increased with increasing depth, so Pitot’s result was quite a revelation.)
To give accurate airspeed readings, the Pitot tube on an aircraft is placed at a location where there is relatively undisturbed airflow. Behind the propeller would clearly be a bad location! A location under the wing is pretty good.
Cheers,
Roger
In reply to:
Well, why is located where it is. Is there a scientific basis.
I guessing that it’s located on the left wing since it a shorter distance to the instrument panel then the right side. Some aircraft have pitot tubes on the both sides. (i.e. Apache Attack Helicopter).
Walt
And now . . . . for the triple crown. How do you pronounce his Last name and upon what authority do you base your conclusion?
I pronounce Pitot as PEE-toe. No less an authority than the “American Heritage Dictionary” agrees with me, although it says that either syllable may be stressed. Now I want to know why the guy who flies the airplane is not the PEE-loe.
-Mike
In reply to:
No less an authority than the “American Heritage Dictionary” agrees with me
But wasn’t the guy French? What does an American dictionary know about how to speak French
Now I want to know why the guy who flies the airplane is not the PEE-loe.
Mike,
It’s because the French word for pilot is pilote (pronounced pee-LOAT).
Cheers,
Roger
The Alpha Jets of the Patrouille de France
Wait…you mean it’s not?
I thought that pItot referred to that little red jug I carry on long trips (sometimes known as little Johnny) You know, it has a long red neck. Isn’t that the pee tote tube