Does freezing temps stops engines?

I am not aware that freezing temperatures would wreck your engines. Your pitot tube can get iced up though and thus give you the wrong airspeed readings.

The pitot heat switch is located in your overhead panel in the DC-3.

I've never herd of the engines just freezing up. I know that it's impossible for the fuel lines to freeze (They freeze at -150*F). The only thing that I know is that vital electrical wires would freeze.

I have heard about that and had some wrong readings. But cold seems to make the engine louder and seem to get more powerful. Im not saying this is true on day after tommorow the armys helicopter fuel froze and started to crash but I had problems with cold like you said. Thanks for the help.

It shouldn't have any effect on the engines in Flight Simulator. In real life, with a surface temperature that low, it would require pre-heating the engines before start and you would still have a hard time starting. Once the engines are running and up to operating temperature, there is no problem. 🙂

Thanks. I should have a good flight 😀

I hope you're wearing dry socks and earmuffs!

When I was in a plane there was no heat at all so I wear earmuffs and dry socks like you said but I weared a thermal coat and was fine in -56C temps up in the air. I was in a 1936 aircraft that has no heat. I could rip up the wall that has the engine on the other side of it but It would destroy the plane.

Power management becomes very critical in reciprocating engines in extremel cold temperatures. You want to keep as much power on the engine that will still allow you to make a reasonable descent, but not rapidly over-cool the engines. The engines on by Cessna 421B (TCM GTSIO-520's) are very prone to "shock cooling." You can actually crack cylinder heads if power is pulled off too rapidly.

Another problem is entrained water in the fuel system. AVGAS will hold micro-droplets of water in suspension for long periods of time. When the fuel gets extremely cold, the water tends to coalesce all fall out of suspension. For winter flying in the 421, Cessna recommends the addition of .5 l of isopropal alcohol per about 190 l of AVGAS.

Most turbine engines have heat exchangers that cool the oil while heating the fuel, since most turbine engines generally cruise in the normally colder, high altitudes.

PanAmerican wrote:

I've never herd of the engines just freezing up. I know that it's impossible for the fuel lines to freeze (They freeze at -150*F). The only thing that I know is that vital electrical wires would freeze.

Isnt Jet A awfully simular to JP-8? Because JP-8 freezes at -58* F.

Mustangfreak wrote:

Isnt Jet A awfully simular to JP-8? Because JP-8 freezes at -58* F.

Jet A and JP-8 are very similar in freeze characteristics, however JP-8 has other better additives that make it safer to use and better for the aircrafts components, which makes it more expensive.
http://hometown.aol.com/afp1fire/fuels.htm

For what it's worth, I read(in a textbook, so who knows how reliable it is) that Gasoline freezes at -238 F (-150 C), and it will still ignite as long as it is warmer than -97 F.