Interactive Simulator

Pitot-Static System Simulator

See the air-data system as a live schematic with pressure gauges, then block the pitot or static source and watch the ASI, altimeter and VSI react exactly as they would in flight. The clearest way to internalise pitot-static failures.

ASIAltimeterVSIBlockage failures

AIRSPEED

ALTIMETER

VERTICAL SPEED

Flight profile

Altitude: 5,000 ft · IAS set 140 kt

Blockages

Pitot = iced ram + drain. Block, then climb or descend to see the effect.

All sources clear: climb and descend to see normal indications, then block a source to watch the failure develop.

Caution: the behaviour of the instruments and information shown is approximate, for illustration and study only, and may not reflect the exact readings of a real aircraft.

Instructions for use

The pitot tube supplies ram (total) pressure and the static port supplies static pressure. The ASI needs both; the altimeter and VSI use static only. Block a source, then climb or descend to see how each instrument behaves.

Static blocked

Altimeter freezes at the blockage altitude.
VSI reads zero — it senses no change in static.
ASI under-reads in the climb and over-reads in the descent.

Pitot blocked (iced — ram and drain)

ASI behaves like an altimeter: over-reads in the climb, under-reads in the descent.
Altimeter and VSI are unaffected.
(If only the ram is blocked and the drain is open, the ASI instead falls to zero.)

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