rocky 118 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I'm sure this is something that can be answered quickly, well at least I think it can. I have noticed while flying the Katana, which is now my favourite GA incidentally, that even when it gets -8c temp and I turn up the carb temperature, no matter how little, it has a diverse effect. It seems to have no benefit. The only thing that happens is that the engine seems to run less smooth and the performance drops off. I can understand this scenario if the heat was not necessary, but I have always understood that even at temeratures of maybe +5c, carb heat might be needed. so how come at -8c it appears to not require any heat whatsoever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisager 16 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I'm sure this is something that can be answered quickly, well at least I think it can. I have noticed while flying the Katana, which is now my favourite GA incidentally, that even when it gets -8c temp and I turn up the carb temperature, no matter how little, it has a diverse effect. It seems to have no benefit. The only thing that happens is that the engine seems to run less smooth and the performance drops off. I can understand this scenario if the heat was not necessary, but I have always understood that even at temeratures of maybe +5c, carb heat might be needed. so how come at -8c it appears to not require any heat whatsoever? Carb heat should be turned on whenever you significantly reduce power, e.g when you are descending the aircraft or coming in for a landing (although you may want to turn it off on short final, to have maximum power available in the event of a go-around). The idea is to prevent carburetor icing which occurs in humid air. At -8C the amount of water vapor in the air is insignificant, so no need for carb heat. Using carburetor heat does have an impact on the engine, although I understand that this is not a big factor in the Katana. A short article on the topic here: http://flighttraining.aopa.org/students/presolo/skills/carbicing.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky 118 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Carb heat should be turned on whenever you significantly reduce power, e.g when you are descending the aircraft or coming in for a landing (although you may want to turn it off on short final, to have maximum power available in the event of a go-around). The idea is to prevent carburetor icing which occurs in humid air. At -8C the amount of water vapor in the air is insignificant, so no need for carb heat. Using carburetor heat does have an impact on the engine, although I understand that this is not a big factor in the Katana. A short article on the topic here: http://flighttrainin.../carbicing.html Ahhh, OK, thanks for the info, much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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