Water, Water Everywhere

While retrieving the airplanes paperwork and keys, I was told its airspeed indicator (ASI) was acting up. It was reading low, according to the FBO, and the airplane was due for some shop time later that day. The shop hadnt opened yet that morning, though, and I had plans later in the day, making a delay problematic. I asked if the airplane was grounded. No, was the response.

Editorial Staff

Monday, June 25, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

The DA40 NG delivered to Virgin Islands flight school UFLYVI. Diamond Aircraft

Key Takeaways:

A student pilot flew a solo cross-country flight in a Cessna 150 despite being aware that the airspeed indicator (ASI) was consistently reading low.
The ASI malfunction was caused by a small amount of water in the pitot system, a simple issue that was quickly resolved by a mechanic.
The incident highlighted critical lessons: the importance of using pitot tube covers, the need for clear maintenance procedures from FBOs, and pilots not overriding mechanical concerns with overconfidence.

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I was still a student pilot, past my first solo, but working on building cross-country time. The day’s plan was a solo round-trip flight to a towered airport about 100 miles from home base. My chosen platform was a well-worn but mostly reliable Cessna 150.

While retrieving the airplane’s paperwork and keys, I was told its airspeed indicator (ASI) was acting up. It was reading low, according to the FBO, and the airplane was due for some shop time later that day. The shop hadn’t opened yet that morning, though, and I had plans later in the day, making a delay problematic. I asked if the airplane was grounded. “No,” was the response.