Pitot System Blocked

[mooneyflyfast]

As a point of interest I learned that the pitot system is not part of the IFR static system check.  I was told that my pitot system had a leak-this is measured on an airspeed indicator and mine was something like 9 knors as I recall. This did not affect the certification. At annual I had it repaired. It was a cracked plastic bottle in the pitot drain at the left wing root (J model). It made no difference in indicated airspeed that I could see.

[EricJ]

26 minutes ago, mooneyflyfast said:

As a point of interest I learned that the pitot system is not part of the IFR static system check.  I was told that my pitot system had a leak-this is measured on an airspeed indicator and mine was something like 9 knors as I recall. This did not affect the certification. At annual I had it repaired. It was a cracked plastic bottle in the pitot drain at the left wing root (J model). It made no difference in indicated airspeed that I could see.

That's correct, there's no regulatory requirement for pitot leak checks.    There is AC guidance on when and how to test and how much leakage is okay, but nothing regulatory.

Accurate altitude is needed for traffic separation and safety on approaches, but speed not so much.

[PT20J]

The pitot leak check is in my M20J Service Manual. It's easy to do without any special equipment. You just pressurize the pitot line to show 150 kts on the ASI and then time how fast the airspeed drops off with the pressure constant. Should be less that 10 kts in a minute. I used a large plastic syringe and some rubber tubing to connect it to the pitot. Be sure to cover the drain hole in the pitot tube.

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