Originally Posted by
FluidFlow
2) Speed indication of Mach by pitots can be over-estimated in a Cb
I am intrigued by this - the actual density of humid/ saturated air will be lower than that of dry air (the effect that keeps clouds up), so the total pressure observed by the pitot will be lower, and if calculated dry gas density used to convert to speed, the actual calculated air speed under-estimated. The wings will also see the lower density and produce less lift.
I am not aware of pitot tubes being compensated for moisture content of the air, are they ever?