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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/pilot-true-airspeed-altitude

For the same calibrated airspeed, how does true airspeed change as altitude increases?

True airspeed increases with altitude.

  1. It decreases
  2. It increases ✔
  3. It stays the same

Why: Thinner air at altitude makes less pressure in the pitot tube. To get the same airspeed reading, the airplane must actually move faster through the air. So true airspeed rises as you climb.

Huh, didn't know that: Groundspeed is true airspeed adjusted for wind.

The dad joke
Why don't airplanes ever tell fibs? They stick to true airspeed.
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Sources

  1. FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Chapter 8 https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/faa-h-8083-25c.pdf

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