A Dakota on our field was owned by a VFR only pilot. Last summer on a trip
from STE to GRB and back, he reported having carb ice 3 times during his
trip. He questioned that it was really carb ice, but said that each time
the engine started to sputter, carb heat smoothed out the roughness in text
book fashion. Each time, the engine then ran smoothly for awhile then got
gradually rougher until carb heat was applied again.

I was at the airport when he returned and reported the problem to the
mechanic. To satisfy the pilot, the mechanic looked over the airplane and
found nothing wrong. It was simply the effect of a very humid day.

This happened in SUMMER?

Very weird. In our plane, the carb heat is checked prior to take-off,
and never touched again. In fact, I've only activated carb heat once
in flight (in ten years and 1500 hours) in ANY flavored Cherokee -- and
that was just an experiment.

Cessnas are another animal altogether, of course.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"