Noob Question - CEM and Prop

[Charly_Owl]

Hello guys,

I'm kind of new to sims. So far, I'm having a great time: that's a true kickass hobby to be honest! I'm having a real blast with Il-2 '46 UP3, and I decided to buy CoD to support the company, despite its multiple bugs. I know the game's current state, but I have faith in the devs to eventually patch it right.

But that's not the point. This thread is to ask you a very specific question. I'm a newcomer here, so forgive me if these questions seem like really dumb, but I want to learn to know the planes I fly and how they really work. I'm kinda new to complex engine management. I just learned about trimming the plane in-flight, which helps considerably. However, I was wondering about CEM features and how they affect your flight.

1) About Mixture
How does increasing or decreasing the mixture affect my in-flight performances? Is it controlling the fuel flow so that engine's performance is better and generates more thrust? I'd like to have some explanations so I can understand how to use it efficiently in-flight, and for which cases I should use high % mixture vs low % mixture.

2) About Radiator
My best bet would be the opening of the radiator allows the engine to cool down a bit. Is it to prevent overheating or it has another utility I'm not aware about? Furthermore: what happens when an engine overheats? Does it blow up or anything?

3) About propeller pitch
I know they affect the thrust generated. But why would you want to increase or decrease prop pitch during a dogfight as I've seen in many youtube videos? I'm curious about the reasons behind it.

Once again, I'm sorry if my questions annoy you or seem like no-brainers. I just thought some sim vets like you could give me first-hand experience on the reasons behind using these features.