What does Total Air Temperature (TAT) represent?

• A. Static air temperature increased by friction forces from flight
• B. Ambient outside air temperature
• C. Temperature at the engine face
• D. Cabin air temperature

Answer: (A)

Total Air Temperature tells you the temperature of the air as experienced by a moving aircraft. It’s the static outside air temperature plus the heating that comes from the air being rammed and compressed by the aircraft’s motion. In other words, the air in front of the plane gets hotter as speed creates friction and compression, so the temperature measured by a TAT sensor is higher than the ambient outside air temperature. This is not the ambient outside air temperature by itself, nor is it engine face temperature or cabin air temperature.