Jacko wrote:
now we can ask the nice lady in the GTN to “say fuel flow”
Oh. How does one set that up, with a GTN already connected to a fuel flow meter?
IOW, with a 20kt headwind, you discover it just as you are about to rotate, with the end of the runway coming up 
That’s horrible… it could easily kill somebody because it won’t be expected and in say OVC002 you have to make a fast transition to the backup AI.
Peter wrote:
That could be nasty… especially if the “modern avionics” disables autopilot functionality. Does anyone know if Aspen/Garmin kit supports autopilot operation with airdata lost?
The aspen displays a big Red Cross and failure message across the display when reaching 40 its ground speed. I did some high speed taxis during lockdown and didn’t remove the pitot covers which is why I know ;-)
Jacko wrote:
so in theory it adds at least 50% (say 50 m) to stopping distance.
YMMD! Thank you!
For sure, 10 knots too fast on final is about 25% excess speed, so in theory it adds at least 50% (say 50 m) to stopping distance. In practice, it can add much more if it delays the point at which the brakes become effective. That may not be a disaster but, trust me, such ham-fistedness causes friends on the ground to laugh a lot.
Jacko wrote:
I certainly can’t imagine having to check a dial to know whether my aeroplane is ready to fly
I gutes nobody needs this. At the approach, however, those ASIs come in handy to check whether you are 10kt too fast or not – but I guess in these airplanes you are talking abut, 10kt more in final don’t make that much of a difference. In others they do…
I have neither time nor inclination to look at the panel on take-off. If I don’t have full control authority after three seconds and wheels off the ground after another three there’s something wrong, whatever the instruments might say.
I used glance down to to check fuel flow after opening the throttle, but now we can ask the nice lady in the GTN to “say fuel flow” – and keep our eyes outside.
When “contact flying”, i.e. looking out of the window, the air speed indicators (dial and G5) would tell me nothing that I don’t already know.
An exception is when towing old gliders with low aerotow Vne and perhaps when flying a lot of different aeroplanes or having only a few hundred hours in a particular aeroplane one might check the ASI from time to time, for instance before pulling up the flap lever. Even then, you can feel resistance if you’re too fast.
I certainly can’t imagine having to check a dial to know whether my aeroplane is ready to fly.
I have a new (to us) Cessna 172. On my first delivery flight home, take off…. airspeed rising, yes.., then fell to zero at about a hundred knots. Pitch and power to land, a little fast and floaty, but all good. Inspection found insect eggs inside. We now cover it religiously, there’s no way you miss it on a 172!
On my low wing RV, I have two pitots connected to redundant AHRS systems. My view: don’t bother covering, risk is non existent.
For another low wing I fly, single pitot, I don’t cover either. Again; I’m confident I can land without it, so no panic. (It’s hangared) it’s very easy to miss on a low wing, and it’s always going to happen when you do your inspection, leave pitot on due to delay an hour or two, then do a quickie inspection before flight.
A friend covers his, and has a huge ribbon attached to it that wraps over the top of the wing, so you couldn’t possibly miss it.
One very important thing: if it does block, don’t mess about poking a stick down it. Dismantle and use air compressor to blow outward. Catch the crap in your hand as it blows out!
