About 3 years ago, while my 912 ULS was still enclosed in the original Classic
cowl and therefore much hotter on average than the same engine in an XS cowl,
it got carb ice on the ground just before opening the throttle for take off. The
engine had been running at around 2500 rpm for at least 20 minutes on a cool
damp day, waiting at the holding point for a gap in traffic to allow access
the runway.
Hitherto I had fondly imagined that carb ice was impossible, due to proximity of
exhausts etc. Luckily the aircraft hadn't lined up for take off slightly
earlier,
or it might have quit during the take off run and/or the climb out. Very
shortly after quitting, the ice melted and it was then possible to restart
without
further trouble. Witnesses were very confident that the cause was carb ice
in that particular atmosphere and all investigations could reveal no other
possible cause.
Needless to say, I promptly ordered the Skydrive hot water kit, which is quite
easy to fit and seems highly unlikely to increase the risk of coolant leakage.
Since then there's been no further hint of carb ice, even though I subsequently
fitted Nev Eyre's excellent cowl which allows my engine to run much cooler
than hitherto.
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