Airspeed drops to zero after take off

I have an issue with MSFS 2020. Last week I did all training and some flights without any issues. Starting from today following issue appears: take off goes well but once climbing the airspeed drops to zero and I crash. Engine is at 100% and throttle at full speed. But this does not help, the airspeed goes to zero whatever I do. This issue did not happen before. I have seen some people with similar issue but with no solution.

Please, some additional info.

  • What plane?
  • What airport?
  • maybe a screenshot when it drops…

Hi @ScoredPoem13258, welcome to the forums. Not sure if this is it or not, but any time someone mentions an issue with airspeed or altimeter systems (pitot / static), my first guess is icing. It doesn’t take much when flying in the clouds for this to occur (it is quite over-done in the sim).

I actually turn icing effects to “visual only” in the “Assistance” menu. Wish they could be turned off completely until the model is tweaked. And always turn on all anti-ice systems before takeoff (especially pitot / static heat).

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It happens with all planes on all airports. Just after take off. Even at full throttle airspeed drops to zero.

Would really like to see a video or at least a screen shot as airspeed falls off.

Check your fuel tanks or the fuel tank switch. Sometimes the fuel switch is “off” or the ground crew forgot to refuel.

Pitot heat switch to on. It’s winter time in northern hemisphere, it’s cold outside and your pitot tubes need a little warmup. Can put a blanket on it or you switch the heater on. :kissing_heart:

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Covering the pitot tube would be ill advised.

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If you fly a piston engined aircraft:
Dont put the mixture full foreward! About 2/3 foreward is fine.

This is an issue of MSFS.

Im calling pitot icing considering the time of year

Things to check:

  1. is another axis programmed to throttle? Is the throttle in the plane staying at 100%?
  2. have you got mixture assigned to an axis? I had this problem and this was the cause.
    Cheers
    Al

Pitot tube covers are pretty common in real life. They keep bugs — dirt dauber wasps — from using it as a nest and other things that might plug it up. They’re usually like a bright red glove that slips on.

The two things that aren’t advisable are:

  1. Turning on pitot heat with the cover still on.

  2. Taking off with it on — although you would have to be really dumb to do this because the airspeed indicator would never “come alive” and get to rotation speed.

I agree with the others that say you probably have an icing problem. Turn on pitot heat while you’re taxiing to the runway, and don’t fly in known icing conditions unless you have anti-ice systems and they are turned on.

don’t pull so hard on the stick. :upside_down_face:

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Been there, done that. It’s definitely not fun walking into the Chief Pilots office with a guilty look and a handful of melted plastic…

Touch wood, not yet, but it even happens to the big boys occasionally.

Also check for any failures set in the aircraft screens before hitting the fly button.

If you read OP’s first post.

If this is the case, either prop is pulled to feather or pulling the nose WAY to hi on climb out. Or both.
Pitot ice will result in airspeed INDICATION to drop to zero but isn’t going to make the plane crash.

Either OP has a mucked up assignment in the control mapping, needs to go back to flight school OR is another P3D promoter trolling.

That’s actually amazing to read that. Sounds like the pitot probe(s) partially worked, but the static ports were clogged. Ram air would provide at least some airspeed indication.
But with clogged static ports, the airspeed would be very inaccurate, and the altimeter and VS would be inoperative or close to it.

But I think the OP’s problem is ice after takeoff. His takeoff was fine, but then the airspeed dropped to zero. He was in a climb attitude and probably stalled from excessive pitch.

Dont need to tell me.

At every airport? In every plane?

The simplistic explanation is still – as you said before – excessive pitch to stall.

If we’re not going with pitot tube icing making the airspeed LOOK as if it is dropping to zero, then with a working airspeed indicator, the airspeed is actually dropping to zero.

Need more info from the OP to go any further. AP on or off? Keyboard and mouse, or controller / joystick / yoke control? Does he know how to fly a plane? Is it the trim wheel runaway bug?

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