FACT... its not a matter of if your Static system is going to leak it’s a matter of when. “Or is it right now!”

When you’ve been in the business as long as we have, you know that alot can go wrong in 24 months especially with older equipment.

Your Pitot Static is one of the most critical systems on your aircraft, and repairing and maintaining that system can be time consuming depending on the issue. And nobody likes unexpected downtime.

That’s why I recommend getting your system checked as part of your annual maintenance inspection. That way, if there is an issue, you’ve already afforded that time in your schedule and your avoiding a potential safety issue down the road… Whether it’s good to go or we need to troubleshoot and chase down a leak, you have that extra assurance you and your passengers are flying safely.

That being said, I also like to remind people of the safety precautions they can take in between those inspections. The big one is to install a pitot cover every time your airplane is tied down – even if it’s parked inside a hangar. While you may think it’s protected inside, insects do find their way in.

Removing the pitot cover and visually checking to see if the static ports and pitot tube openings “appear” clear can help too, but it doesn’t always reveal issues since you can’t see beyond those openings.

Another check is to see if the pitot heat is working by turning it on and touching it quickly to see if it’s warming up. It gets hot quickly though, so you’ll have to be fast with this test.

The one thing I do NOT recommend is blowing into the pitot tube while someone else watches your instruments. This can actually damage the instruments because the pressure changes might be too strong and abrupt for the instruments to take and wont reveal a leak in your system.