Pitot Tube Calculator

Pitot Tube Formula

Worked Example

A low-speed pitot reading 1000 Pa dynamic pressure in sea-level air:

1. V = √(2(p₀ − p) ÷ ρ) = √(2 × 1000 ÷ 1.225)
2. V = 40.40610178 m/s

In knots: 78.54317841 kn

GATE tip

With a U-tube manometer, Δp = ρ_liquid g h. A 10 cm water column is 980.7 Pa, which gives about 40 m/s in sea-level air.

More Aerodynamics Calculators

• Induced Drag Calculator

  C_Di = C_L² / (π e AR)

  AR = b²/S; elliptic loading e = 1, induced angle αᵢ = C_L/(πAR)

  Example: A wing at C_L = 0.6 with aspect ratio 8 and elliptic loading: Induced drag coefficient C_Di = 0.0143239.

  Open the induced drag calculator →

• Thin Airfoil Theory Calculator

  c_l = 2π(α − α_L0), a = a₀/(1 + a₀/(πeAR))

  Kutta–Joukowski L′ = ρV∞Γ, so Γ = ½V∞ c c_l

  Example: A cambered airfoil (α_L0 = −2°) at 5° on a wing of aspect ratio 8: Section lift coefficient c_l = 0.767636.

  Open the thin airfoil theory calculator →

• Boundary Layer Calculator

  Laminar: δ = 5x/√Reₓ, c_f = 0.664/√Reₓ

  δ* = 1.7208x/√Reₓ, θ = 0.664x/√Reₓ; turbulent δ = 0.37x/Reₓ^0.2, c_f = 0.0592/Reₓ^0.2

  Example: Air at 10 m/s, 0.5 m from the leading edge (ν = 1.46 × 10⁻⁵ m²/s): Boundary-layer thickness δ = 4.272 mm.

  Open the boundary layer calculator →

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The International System of Units (SI), 9th edition (SI Brochure), Bureau International des Poids et Mesures .

Last reviewed: 2026-10-15. Factors are stored exactly and computed with 50-digit decimal arithmetic. See how we verify conversion factors.