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pitot tube

It starts at the tip of the spinner and connects to the back of the Dynon. The tube in the spinner is stationary and the spinner rotates around the tube. There is a ceramic bearing surface in the nose of the spinner minimize wear. The Rotax 912 has a hollow shaft through the gear box. It is located in the spinner rather than the wing to minimize complexity when removing the wings.

Hope this helps.
 
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PITOT SYSTEM

Van's design of this pitot system must be pretty good because in the Pilot Operating Handbook the airspeed calibration table has all the calibrated airspeeds identical to indicated airspeeds from 45 to 150 knots except; 55 cal is 54 ind., 60 cal. is 58 ind., 70 cal. is 69 ind., 80 cal. is 78 ind., 85 cal. is 84 ind., & 90 cal. is 89 ind. So the few anomalies are within 1 or 2 knots.
Larry H.
 
After 30 hours I thought VAF might be interested to see what wear looks like on the pitot tube. Not much at all, just a little buffing.

RV-12_pitot_tube.JPG
 
Did you use any lube? A little should go a long way.

Lube would not be a good idea and should not be necessary (which is the reason it is not specified in the maint. manual). The pitot tube is hard anodized to protect it from wear, and the bushing insert in the spinner is made from a special material that is impregnated with Teflon. A wear test was done for very significant amount of time and found there to me a negligible amount.

If you add some type of lube it will attract dust and grit...the wear will likely be greatly accelerated.
 
Did you use any lube? A little should go a long way.

Lube would not be a good idea and should not be necessary (which is the reason it is not specified in the maint. manual). The pitot tube is hard anodized to protect it from wear, and the bushing insert in the spinner is made from a special material that is impregnated with Teflon. A wear test was done for very significant amount of time and found there to me a negligible amount.

If you add some type of lube it will attract dust and grit...the wear will likely be greatly accelerated.

I kept it dry per the maintainance manual. Like Scott said, I would think any lube would attract dirt and cause undo wear. The reason I posted the picture is this seems to be one of those areas when the airport "experts" come over to look at the RV-12 and tell me this will wear out in a few months. Part of the building process is to align the pitot tube so there is very little to no side pressure on the bushing. The ""unsusual" pitot system system seems to be working work very well.
 
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No Lube In Maintenance Manual?

I kept it dry per the maintainance manual. Like Scott said, I would think any lube would attract dirt and cause undo wear. The reason I posted the picture is this seems to be one of those areas when the airport "experts" come over to look at the RV-12 and tell me this will wear out in a few months. Part of the building process is to align the pitot tube so there is very little to no side pressure on the bushing. The ""unsusual" pitot system system seems to be working work very well.

The Maintenance Manual that I have, and that is posted on Van's web site does indeed specify a lubricant for the Pitot Tube Bearing. Pages 10-2 and 10-3 spell out the process. From page 1-10 we learn that when they say "Spray Lubricant" the mean either LPS-2 or Tri-Flow.
 
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The Maintenance Manual that I have, and that is posted on Van's web site does indeed specify a lubricant for the Pitot Tube Bearing. Pages 10-2 and 10-3 spell out the process. From page 1-10 we learn that when they say "Spray Lubricant" the mean either LPS-2 or Tri-Flow.

Person who wrote maint. manual did not verify...it will be changed.

Do not put spray lubricant on it.
 
After 30 hours I thought VAF might be interested to see what wear looks like on the pitot tube. Not much at all, just a little buffing.

RV-12_pitot_tube.JPG

Today I did my third annual at 105h TT and noticed some excessive wear on the pitot tube where it gets in contact with the bushing. Similar to the quoted image but significantly deeper with 0.008 inches or 0.2mm. Consequently there is also a little play between the bushing and the pitot.
Does anybody have the same and more importantly how did you fix this.
I never used lubricants as per post from Van's
 
Going through my condition inspection now as well. I have wear too at 164.5 hrs TT. I'll snap a pic when back to airport.

Maintenance Manual (section 11-2) says to replace both the bushing and the pitot if wear damage is found on pitot. So, I ordered both a new pitot (part# FF-1202) and new bushing (part #S-1207). About $50 before shipping in parts.

Not a big deal and easy fix, but I won't hold my breath for how long parts will take to get here :)

After posting pic, I'll be curious if folks think it's safe to fly until the parts arrive or if I should just wait it out.
 
From what I see from you photo I would call that minimal wear, there's going to be contact on the bushing and tube so yes there's going to be some wear.
 
I have a bit worse wear

Here’s my pics. New pitot and bushing on order.
 

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After 330 hours my pitot tube looks just like Chris's, GEICO266, pitot tube after 30 hours. I have used no lubrication. I think Scott at Van's knows what he is talking about.
 
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