RFSchaller
Well Known Member
Today as I entered the pattern my airspeed on my D180 and D100 west to zero. I thought it was some bolockage, but after I landed and checked the pitot tube it slid right out of the spinner. It had cracked circumferentialy at the file mark where the retainer screw contacts it. The airframe has 670 Hours. As I was repairing it a fellow RV-12 owner stopped by and told me he is aware of another RV-12 that had the same thing happen.
There is no easy way to check the pitot tube integrity at annual due to the failure point being inside the poly block behind the gear box and the pitot hose is sealed in place with RTV.
There is no easy way to check the pitot tube integrity at annual due to the failure point being inside the poly block behind the gear box and the pitot hose is sealed in place with RTV.