The Reduction of Position Error: An Examination of the Points to be Watched when Installing a Pitot‐Static Head

RECENT tendencies in the design and operating conditions of aircraft have laid increasing emphasis on the short‐comings of the generally accepted pitot‐static method of measuring flight speed. The routine use of air navigation over long distances has spread widely during the past ten years, and, as a result of the greater distances involved, the percentage error in measured flight speed which can be tolerated has become smaller. This un‐satisfactory position was not until quite recently relieved by any very clear appreciation of the errors involved in fitting a pitot‐static head in any given position on an aircraft.