Flight Instruments
Flight Instruments
What are the two types of Flight
Instruments?
Pitot
Static Instruments
Gyroscopic Instruments
Pitot-Static Instruments
What are the three instruments that are
Pitot-Static?
1. Airspeed Indicator
2. Altimeter
3. Vertical Speed
Indicator
Pitot Static System
Pitot Static System
Pressures of the Pitot-Static
System
The Pitot-Static system operates by
using two types of pressures. What are
the names of the two pressures?
Static Pressure
Ram (Impact) Pressure
Airspeed Indicator
What air sources
does the Airspeed
Indicator use?
Describe what
happens as you
increase in airspeed?
Airspeed Arcs
What does each colored
arc mean?
White Arc?
Flap Operating Range
Green Arc?
Normal Operating Range
Yellow Arc?
Caution Range
Red Radial Line?
Never Exceed Speed
Airspeed Arc
Types of Airspeed
Can you name and describe 4 different
types of airspeed?
1. Indicated (IAS)
2. Calibrated (CAS)
3. True (TAS)
4. Ground (GS)
Calibrate Airspeed (CAS)
What is CAS?
Indicated airspeed corrected for instrument
and installation error
Pitot tube is at a fixed angle and therefore
cannot be accurate at all AOA
The higher the AOA (slower the airspeed)
the greater the error
A more accurate measurement of
airspeed
True Airspeed (TAS)
What is True Airspeed?
Calibrated airspeed corrected for altitude and
nonstandard temperature
The speed at which the aircraft is traveling
through the air
Given a calibrated airspeed as altitude
increases true airspeed increases
Why does TAS increase as altitude
increases?
How do we calculate True Airspeed in flight?
Groundspeed (GS)
What is Ground Speed?
True airspeed adjusted for wind
The speed the aircraft moves across the
ground
When do we use Groundspeed?
Used for navigation and flight planning
How do you calculate groundspeed in
flight?
Review Questions
What two pressures does an airspeed
indicator use?
What is calibrated airspeed?
What does the white arc on the airspeed
indicator mean?
Draw and Label the face of the Airspeed
indicator.
Altimeter
What do we use the Altimeter for?
To indicates an estimated height above
sea level (MSL)
Important for determining:
Terrain/Obstacle Clearances
Accurate Cruising Level
Traffic Avoidance
Required Minimum and Maximum Altitude
Altimeter Operation
How does an Altimeter work?
Senses pressure changes
With changes in pressure aneroid wafers will expand and
contract, which will mechanically turn the hands on the
altimeter.
As the aircraft moves into lower pressure a climb is indicated
As the aircraft moves into higher pressure a descent is
indicated
Altimeter
Do either of the static
or impact pressures
enter the Aneroid
wafer?
Walk me through
what happens if you
increase your
altitude?
Altimeter
Can you name and describe 5 different
types of altitudes?
1. Indicated Altitude
2. True Altitude
3. Absolute Altitude
4. Pressure Altitude
5. Density Altitude
Pressure Altitude
What is Pressure Altitude?
Altitude indicated when the altimeter
setting window is adjusted to 29.92
Altitude above the standard datum plane,
which is a theoretic plane where air
pressure (corrected to 15°C) equals 29.92
What do we use Pressure Altitude for?
To calculate density altitude, true altitude,
true airspeed, and other performance data
Density Altitude
What is Density Altitude?
Pressure altitude corrected for variations from
standard temperature
When will density Altitude and Pressure Altitude
be the same?
When the temperature is at standard
temperature
If temperature is above standard, density altitude
is higher than pressure altitude
If temperature is below standard, the density
altitude is lower that pressure altitude
Nonstandard Pressure
Atmosphere pressure is continuously changing.
What is considered Standard Temperature and
Pressure?
International Standard Atmosphere (ISA)
59° F or 15° C
29.92” Mg (1013.25Mb)
If pressure is lower than 29.92” the aircraft will be at a lower altitude
than indicated
If pressure is higher than 29.92” the aircraft will be at a higher
altitude than indicated.
Altimeter Errors
From High to Low, Look Out Below
Altimeter Errors
From hot to cold, look out below!
Altimeter Errors
How do we correct for the errors of hot to
cold, and high to low?
By setting the current altimeter setting into
the Kollsman window.
Review Questions
Why is an accurate altimeter important?
What is a Kollsman window and why is it
necessary?
Describe how an altimeter works?
Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI)
What does a VSI show?
Climbs
Descents
Level Flight
Trend Information: shows an immediate indication
of an increase or decrease in the airplane’s rate
of climb.
Rate Information: shows a stabilized rate of
change in altitude.
Vertical Speed Indicator
Explain how the VSI
works.
What is the
calibrated leak for?
What source of
pressure does the
VSI use?
Is the information
displayed
immediately?
VSI Questions
What is the calibrated leak for?
What pressure does the VSI use to
operate?
The VSI is a trend instrument, what does
this mean?
What information does the VSI show?
Describe what happens in the VSI when
descending.
Pitot-Static Blockages
If the pitot tube
becomes blocked,
but the drain hole
remains open, what
happens?
Airspeed indicator will
indicate zero, because
there will be static
pressure on both sides of
the aneroid wafer.
Pitot-Static
Blockages
If the blockage
blocks the pitot tube
and drain hole, what
happens to the
airspeed indicator?
Acts like altimeter.
Climbs show increase in
airspeed
Descent shows decrease
in airspeed
Pitot-Static Blockages
What will happen to
each instrument if
the static port
becomes blocked?
What else can we do
to get static pressure
back in this case?
Break the VSI
Use Warrior software to show Pitot-
Static Instruments and effects of
Blockages.
Warrior Software
Gyroscopic Instruments
What are the three gyroscopic
instruments?
1. Attitude Indicator
2. Heading Indicator
3. Turn Coordinator
Gyroscopic Instruments
To understand how the gyroscopic
instruments work, we must first
understand the key principles behind the
operation of a gyro.
Can you name the two main principles?
1. Rigidity in Space
2. Gyroscopic Precession
Rigidity In Space
Gyroscopic Precession
Demonstration
Use Toy Gyro to demonstrate Rigidity in
Space and Gyroscopic Precession.
Sources of Power
How are the gyros in the gyroscopic
instruments spun?
Vacuum from the engine for Attitude
Indicator and Heading Indicator
Electrically run for the Turn Coordinator
Why wouldn’t we make all three vacuum
powered?
Why wouldn’t we make all three
electrically powered?
Vacuum Systems
What types of vacuum systems are
there?
Wet-type vacuum pump system
Dry-type vacuum pump system
Venturi tube system
Vacuum Systems (Wet-type)
Vacuum System (Venturi)
Attitude Indicator
How is the gyro
gimbaled?
How is it powered?
What are some problems
with banking or pitching
too far?
100-110° Bank
60-70° Pitch
Which gyroscopic
principle does the
Attitude indicator use?
Rigidity in Space
Attitude Indicator
How does the attitude indicator erect itself?
The attitude indicator uses pengelous veins and the
law of precession to erect itself
Draw the Attitude Indicator and it’s pengelous
veins.
Attitude Indicator is accurate until it tumbles
Will only tumble if maximum bank or pitch angle is
exceeded
Review Questions
What information does the attitude
indicator show?
Which gyroscopic principle does the
attitude indicator primarily use?
How does the attitude indicator erect
itself?
Heading Indicator
Directional Gyro (DG)
Displays magnetic
heading without magnetic
compass errors
Heading Indicator
How is it gimbaled?
What is precession?
How often should
you reset?
15 minutes
What gyroscopic
principle does the
Heading Indicator
use?
Rigidity in Space
Heading Indicator
What is the erecting
mechanism for the
HI?
The air moving over
the scopes hit the
scopes at different
angles when the gyro
is not erect. These
uneven forces erect
the gyro.
See HI drawing
Heading Indicator Errors
What is Precession?
Precession caused by the mechanical
friction of the gimbals will cause the
heading indicator to become inaccurate
How often must we reset the HI?
Must be reset every 15 minutes through
checking the heading indicator with the
magnetic compass
Review Questions
What gyroscopic principle does the
Heading Indicator primarily use?
How often does it need to be reset?
Why is this necessary?
How does the heading indicator erect
itself?
How is the HI gimbaled?
Turn Coordinator
Turn Coordinator
What does the Turn Coordinator show?
Coordination of a turn
What gyroscopic principle does the Turn
Coordinator use?
Gyroscopic Procession
Why is the TC gimbaled at a 30° angle?
Rate of Turn
Rate of Roll
How is the TC powered? Why?
Electrically powered, redundancy
Inclinometer
What does the inclinometer show?
Shows airplane coordination
In coordinated flight the ball will be centered
“Step on the Ball”
What is a Skidding Turn?
Skidding Turn is one in which the rate of turn is too great for the
bank angle.
What is a Slipping Turn?
A Slipping Turn is one in which the rate of turn is too great for
the bank angle.
Review Questions
Draw the Turn Coordinator.
What does the Turn Coordinator show?
Why is the gyro gimbaled at an angle?
What does the inclinometer show?
How long does it take to make a
standard rate 360° turn?
Use Warrior software to demonstrate
gyroscopic instruments.
Warrior Software
Magnetic Compass
Variation
What is variation?
Why does it occur?
Why does the amount of variation vary
from the west coast to the east coast?
How is it displayed on a sectional chart?
Deviation
What is deviation?
How do we apply it to the magnetic
compass?
Using the compass card
When the compass card is calculated, is
the equipment inside aircraft turned on?
Yes,this is when the magnetic fields are
generated creating the greatest deviation.
Magnetic Dip
What is Magnetic Dip?
Magnetic Dip Errors
Magnetic Dip responsible for turn,
accelerating, and decelerating errors.
Due to magnetic field around the Earth
Errors non-existent over equator, more
pronounced at poles.
What are the Errors caused by Magnetic
Dip?
ANDS (Counter Weight)
North Lags, South Leads (Magnetic Dip)
THE END!!!!!!
Hope you enjoyed my extremely
interesting and INTERACTIVE approach
to teaching the Flight Instruments!
Any Questions???
