Combustion whether in aircraft or cars or anything that has an engine, not only relies on accurate mixture of air with fuel before ignition, it also requires the air and fuel to be at optimal temperature - this ensures instant and clean combustion.

Aircraft typically fly at altitudes where the air is very cold. This cold, dense and often freezing air impedes combustion and may even need to be pre-heated before mixing with fuel. So how does the aircraft know if the air is at the correct temperature or not? This is where the Intake Air Temperature (IAT) sensor comes into play.

An automobile engineer’s solution to the cold air problem would be to increase the fuel in the fue ... Read more »