Carburetor Ice | Carb Heat | FlightInsight

If you're getting ready for our Private Pilot checkride, you'll need to know how a carburetor works in your aircraft and how carburetor ice can affect flight. Also, you'll want to know how carb heat can help prevent icing.

A carburetor is used on some aircraft engines as the means of fuel induction into the engine, it can be located on the bottom of some engines. A float type carburetor uses a constricted throat to create a venturi, sucking fuel and air through into the engine intake. A butterfly valve is opened and closed using the throttle control in the cockpit. When the throttle is fully opened, a great deal of fuel and air is sucked in and high power is produced. When the throttle is closed slightly, less fuel and air is brought into the engine and power production is decreased.

Because pressure drops at low power inside the venturi, temperature can drop below freezing, causing vapor present in the air to freeze and block the flow of air. Temperatures can drop to below freezing even if the outside air temperature is as warm as 70°F. With less air flow due to carburetor icing, power production is decreased. If the carburetor heat knob is opened in the cockpit, heating the air in the throat will cause the air to become less dense, enrichening the mixture and reducing power. The heat will melt the ice causing water to be ingested by the engine and power to drop even more. Once the ice is fully cleared, power will return to levels higher than before carburetor heat was first applied.

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