The pilot tube

I studied over my lunch break today, as I often do. I was trying to hurry to finish the page I was on because my lunch was over and we had a meeting right after. So I sped up my reading, finished the page, couldn't understand what I had just read and went back to read it again. Now I was late for the meeting, so I shut my book, ran into my boss's office and plopped into a chair. Much to my surprise, I was the first one there.  He looks over his computer at me and said "You've been sleeping on your break, haven't you?" (which I am known to do, but not this time... and oddly enough, I guess I have the same look from studying as I do after I just wake up? haha)

"Nope, I was studying!"

He always asks why I say that like it's an accomplishment that I was actually NOT sleeping and studying instead. (Because IT IS!)

"Prove it."

So I ran back, got my textbook and brought it to him, "See? Studying."

"Showing me a book doesn't prove you were studying", he says as he opens the book. "What instruments use static pressure?"

I paused and pictured the instruments in front of me. I know the two middle ones - attitude and magnetic heading, and the far left bottom one - turn coordinator, are powered by a gyro so it's the remaining three.

"Airspeed, altitude and vertical speed."

He nods. "What is the only instrument to use both the pilot tube and static pressure?"

I giggled. "First of all, it's PITOT tube! And it's airspeed."  Although my moment of glory was short-lived when I mispronounced "barometric" a few moments later. My boss is into computers and thinks he's pretty smart, which he is... but he doesn't like anyone showing him up. Especially me, since I bounce around and act like a goon.

So next he asks, "What's standard barometric pressure?"

"29.92". Easy Peasy.

"What's it in millibars?"

BLANK. Oh crap. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is that? "You'll need to know this if you want to fly in Europe".

No clue. It's 1013.2 millibars, btw. This was the point where I said "barometeric". LOL He laughed and gave me back the book.

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Odd geeky fact: Did you know that the blood vessels in a bee's wing act as vortex generators and control lift and drag? Pretty cool...

Anyways, on the agenda for tonight:
1) Cleaning - pet sitter comes in 4 days (yikes!) because USS Yorktown trip is 3 weeks from TODAY!!!!
2) At least finish this section in my book that I was working on during lunch and answer some questions
3) Hope to get in some video watching, too. Merlin's giving me some more videos to watch tomorrow.

Flight with Da Vinci on Sunday!!!!!! WHEEEEEEEE!!! She FREAKED out with happiness when I told her!