Pitot tube mounting

[DesertBearhawk]

Guys, I'm in the process of deciding how I am going to mount my pitot tube. My current plan is to mount it in the first bay outboard of the strut attachment point. My plan is to mount the pitot in a removable panel as apposed to mounting it directly to wing internal structure. This way the pitot is removable for servicing with the panel. I figure I'm going to need panel access to the backside of the pitot anyway, why not kill two birds with one stone? Can anyone think of a reason this is not a good idea?

[marcusofcotton]

Good to conserve stones, they sometimes are hard to come by. Mine is coordinating with access panel as well.

Mark J

[N3UW]

Dave,
Not really a good reason but I seem to try to copy what the certified planes do as much as possible. There may be some but I have never seen that done on an aircraft. I have typically seen an access panel near the pitot tube to allow access but the tube itself was mounted to the wing with additional structure in the wing. You want to make sure there is enough structure to make sure the skins do not flex and crack.

[Matt K.]

Take a look at the Gretz Pitot Mast, it contains doublers, washers, everything you need. It is attached with nutplates on the inside so the mast can be unscrewed and stuffed back into the wing. An access panel nearby could be used to access the connections. -Matt