Nov 30, 2019
RAY: Back in the early days of aviation, aircraft mechanics were often confused by the fact that the engines seemed to backfire through the carburetors with some kind of regularity. In some cases, this would cause damage to the carburetors. At the very least, it would require more maintenance and cleaning of the carburetor.
The mechanics began investigating, figuring there was something wrong. After thorough investigations and recalibrating of the engines, they discovered that the cause of the backfiring was...the pilot.
In fact, the pilot was doing it on purpose.
The question is: Why would the pilot of the plane want the engine to backfire through the carburetor?
RAY: Well, back in the early days, before they had figured out this phenomenon when pilots flew under damp and cool conditions, the carburetors would ice up. And they would make it backfire to blow the ice out so it wouldn’t stall the engine and then seize. Of course, airplane engines don't really have carburetors anymore. But that's why they did it
