I should mention that my first static probe was at the stub wing joint under the wing and above my pitot tube like most everybody else's. But from day one there was apparently a leak in that line, or it was unduly influenced by the leading edge of the airfoil. There wasn't much I could do about it, since I went from the aluminum probe to urethane tubing (clamped with safety wire, as I recall) inside the leading edge of the wing, and it was in a place that I couldn't tear into to fix. It'd be easy enough to check for leaks using a manometer, but given my removable forward deck, it was far easier to install a port on each side of the fuselage to achieve perfection and call it done. The old static system became dead weight and a drag penalty, despite being faired in on the aft side.
This subject has caused me to think about how I'll do it on my next plane. >From accuracy, drag, weight, and accessibility standpoints, it seems a no brainer to do it just like I have it in N56ML, with a port on each side of the fuselage behind the shelf on the firewall. The back edge of the shelf makes a dandy place to mount the aluminum tubing that connects the two sides... Mark Langford ML at N56ML.com website at http://www.N56ML.com --------------------------------------------------------
