Pitot tube Placement

[Heather Poe]

I notice that the Sparrowhawk usually has the pitot tube in the front, but the Sport Copter sometimes has the pitot tube on the mast. I am biased toward placement on the mast for aesthetics and to avoid wear-and-tear. However, I wonder if mast placement in the air stream around the cabin prevents accurate readings. Any comments?
Thanks,
Heather

[Paul_Zurawski]

Pitot tube placement is important. Airflow around a cabin can influence the airspeed readings. An accurate way to test this, during the design phase of a particular gyro, is to mount two airspeed indicators, with separate pitot tubes. If the airspeed indicators read the same during all phases of flight, then the designer can mount the pitot tube in either position.