tonyjohnson
Well Known Member
Some of you may remember my earlier post regarding the use of an F-16 pitot tube on my RV8A. Some asked me to keep them informed on how my efforts work out. For those, I have an update. I also have a question.
I hooked up the pitot tube to 12volts today. It only drew 1 amp and 10 watts. The tube heated up. It was noticably warm, but not too hot to hold comfortably.
I think upped the voltage to 26volts. The tube drew 1.5 amps and became too hot to comfortably hold.
My question is: How hot does a heated pitot tube need to get to perform its mission and to be acceptable under FAA regs (not that I would need to comply with them, but it seems a reasonable goal to shoot for).
Any ideas about how to up the voltage without a lot of cost, weight, and noise, would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tony Johnson
I hooked up the pitot tube to 12volts today. It only drew 1 amp and 10 watts. The tube heated up. It was noticably warm, but not too hot to hold comfortably.
I think upped the voltage to 26volts. The tube drew 1.5 amps and became too hot to comfortably hold.
My question is: How hot does a heated pitot tube need to get to perform its mission and to be acceptable under FAA regs (not that I would need to comply with them, but it seems a reasonable goal to shoot for).
Any ideas about how to up the voltage without a lot of cost, weight, and noise, would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tony Johnson