How does a Pitot/Static probe work?

A Pitot probe is a measurement system for fluid or airspeed. It is usually used in aviation to determine the airspeed of an aircraft. Invented by the French physician Henri Pitot and is made of a right-angled bent probe. The probe openings are constructed in a particular way to make the measurement of the airflow One, orthogonally placed, has a relative speed Vi to the air velocity and has a static pressure Ps equal to the ambient atmosphere.

The other one, parallel to the flow, has a null relative speed and has a total pressure Pt equal to the dynamic and static pressures. From the Bernouilli theorem, we compare the rate and the dynamic pressure Pt – Ps measured by a pressure gauge or sensor.

So why do we test a Pitot-Static probe on an aircraft? We test it to avoid a situation where the pilot and the co-pilot would see two different things on their respective instrument displays. To do this, we put Pitot adapters on the Pitot tubes and by attaching Static adaptors to the aircrafts Static ports, then pressurizing the Pitot-Static system by connecting the adaptors to a Pitot-Static tester.