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Old 20th May 2011, 16:11
  #348 (permalink)  
AKAAB
 
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Originally Posted by Shadow
a. Cruising in Ci/CS cloud, as the airspeed probes became gradually clogged with ice crystals, overcoming the pitot-heating capability, would the system have opposed that apparent airspeed loss by auto-thrust increments - resulting in the aircraft flying faster than what was displayed? i.e. dangerously accelerating towards a coffin corner encounter with its control compromising compressibility effects?
Unless there was a change in altitude wouldn't the blocked pitot tubes result in a fixed airspeed, not a gradual loss of airspeed? Once the pitot is blocked it is essentially holding air at a fixed pressure on that side of the system, leaving only the static source to create a change in the differential pressures used to determine airspeed.

Otherwise, great analysis of one possible scenario.
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