Discussions

Pitot Tube Question

Posted by Chris Card on April 10, 2012 at 7:59pm

I just got one of the new style pitot tubes with combined static & dynamic tubes.

I noticed that if I plug the four holes around the tube and plug the hole at the tip, that there is cross flow of air between the static & dynamic sections.

Is this normal?

I thought that the two parts were supposed to be sealed from each other.

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Replies

  • Dave Me April 21, 2015 at 12:45pm

    FYI, my 3DR tube purchased in October 2014 does not leak.

  • Developer
    Mark Colwell April 14, 2013 at 7:30am

    They have known about this issue since Feb 2011, but no action, QA is a mystery at 3DR. Great blog by Users, DIY QA too. 

  • Willem April 14, 2013 at 7:19am

    Just got in to this, mine came last week from 3dr, and guess what, yep just the same.

    Whats irritate me is that 3dr knows from this faulty pitot tubes, and still go on selling them to every one.

    I do not call that a good service at all!

    Thanks for the heads up guys.

  • Chris Card February 4, 2013 at 12:23pm

    So I've checked the replacement pitot tubes that I received...  and... they all LEAK!   

    Now I have even more tubes to fix.  3DR should just make it a kit because we have to take them apart & re glue them anyways.

    This coupled with the fact that the airspeed sensor is quite noisy makes me wonder if I'll even bother with the airspeed sensor.

    I don't know ! ??

  • Tom in NOVA February 3, 2013 at 6:09am

    By the way, I sent my concerns about the leaking pitot tubes to 3DR without asking for a refund or a replacement. Without noting directly the concerns about the leak, they promptly sent me a replacement that was leaking also.

    I give up. Evidently, they are not reading the comments sent to them, nor are they reading this forum's tech support area.

  • Chris Card January 23, 2013 at 9:52am

    I just got a shipping confirmation from 3DR for the pitot tube replacement. 

  • Tom in NOVA January 17, 2013 at 5:58pm

    I am assuming the 3DR Manager will see the big picture (the assembly problem) besides sending a out a couple of tubes for a couple of people.

  • Chris Card January 17, 2013 at 5:30pm

    Well I received a reply from 3DR about the pitot tubes.

    Hi Chris, 

    Thank you for contacting 3D Robotics Technical Support. We appreciate your feedback, and I have forwarded your message to the manager. We will be sending you new replacement pitot tubes soon. You should receive an email with the new order number and the tracking information once the new replacements have shipped. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Regards, Carmen

    I look forward to seeing if the assembly problem has been resolved.

  • Mac January 14, 2013 at 4:02pm

    I've always had mixed luck with the brass ones that you can buy elsewhere, so I recently ordered a batch of the 3DR ones for work.  I figured they couldn't be any worse...  Boy, was I wrong.

    Every single one had a bad leak between the static and dynamic side.  EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.  Big enough that I thought I *had* to be doing something wrong.  Then I found this thread...

    On the one hand, it's nice to know that it's the pitot that's the problem, and not me, but on the other hand, I'm EXTREMELY disappointed with 3DR.  Sure, it's a cheap part, but it's also dirt-simple and 100% critical for proper aircraft function.  If I hadn't checked them out before flying, I would have sent >$50,000 of equipment into the dirt at high speed.

  • elad orbach January 13, 2013 at 2:59pm

    well I think that when you sell something you should back it up

    even when it is open source and not completely commercialize you sell something you need to give support

    otherwise there is no point in buying from i will just pick the Chinese one which i know i will have to fix  but will cost me

    much less

    but that is just me 

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