First of all, I just want to add to the other congratulations on this wonderful new bird. You folks have really outdone yourselves this time. My only knock so far is that I cannot start it "by the book." I go precisely through the steps and no joy, but {Ctrl E} starts it and it flies just fine so I am a very happy camper indeed. I still fly the old one occasionally with some of Mark Beaumont's paints but this is my bird of choice now.Thanks again to all of you for the huge effort!!!

We're glad you like it. :-)I hate to tell you, but you must be doing something wrong. It really will start, if you use the correct technique. A few points to remember, all of which are taken care of automatically by Ctrl E;1. Turn on the battery switch.2. Make sure the master igition switch is in the ON position. It may already be there when you load the aircraft, so flipping it will turn it off.3. Be sure your Mixture levers are set to Full Rich. As noted in the manual, this is a deviation from the actual procedure Russ uses in the instructional video, due to FS's failure to properly model the fuel primer function.4. The red Fuel Pump switches are flipped UP to ON for both engines, but the three white Prime, Start, and Vib switches are UP for the Left Engine, and Down for the Right Engine. They self-center for Off.5. After Priming several times, and switching on the Start switch, hold the Vib switch On by holding down your mouse button until the engine catches. You must toggle the Vib switch during the 5 seconds before the Start switch returns to the center, Off, position.If you do find you have been doing something wrong, it would be instructive to others to hear what you found. In fact, I would like to invite others who initially had trouble with the manual starting system to report what was causing their problem.Hope this sets you on the right track and gets those mills turning without having to resort to the shortcut.Bill Rambow MAAM-SIM - Rambow, Visser, Banting, Young, Womack, and Sodjahttp://www.fssupport.com/maam_sim/maamsim_logo.gif

TerryAs Bill says, you're the first to find this a problem to my knowledge too and the boys over at DC-3 Airways have gone over this lady with a fine toothcomb. If you still have problems after checking out Bill's list, do you want to meet up on RW or Teamspeak sometime and we'll go through it together?'Bout time you joined us over at DC-3 Airways for one of our multiplayer sessions, anyway. You'd be welcome to fly as a guest if you're not a member (can't remember whether you are, offhand).Long time no speak, anyway. Hope you're well and thriving.Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

Thanks to both of you guys for your responses.Bill, what it seems we are dealing with here is a simmer with few cognitive skills. Your list of tips, when read carefully liberated me from the shortcut. I was pausing after the start button to hit the vibrator and thereby missing the "spark." When I quickly moved from the start to the vibrator, it fired up like a champ. For other readers, I have copied your text below:"5. You must toggle the Vib switch during the 5 seconds before the Start switch returns to the center, Off, position."As they say, the devil is in the details...Thanks again for the quick response.And Mark, right now I am flying my around the North American continent trip and still have a ways to go. After I finish it, I will see about joining the DC-3 Airways bunch. Right now I am flying from southern Texas to Tampico, on the east coast of Mexico, so I still have a ways to go to make it around to San Diego, where I started. In case you have not seen the trip photos (you might enjoy seeing much of your work), surf over to http://www.thisispicturethat.com/flight_si...or_flights.htmland follow the links to see what I have been up to since last Fall...Thanks again, both of you,Terry

<<<>>>Well now, ain't that a coincidence. We are in the process of a long, long tour in DCA multiplayer and our route this week puts us into Tampico MMTM from Mexico City MMMX via Poza Rica Tuzpan MMPA! Amazing!We started in Jacksonville, Florida and have explored Cuba, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize (did I miss one?...). We'll be flying up through Mexico now, across the south of the United States and back to JAX. Basically all our sessions are of approximately two hours and are repeated once during each week for those who missed it the first time round.We usually have about 10-15 DC-3s aloft, often with in-house ATC coverage but often simply VFR. Exciting stuff.I did check out your page again. Great pics, Terry. We look forward to seeing the new MAAM-SIM lady up there!Mark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP FleetDC-3 AirwaysEDIT: Yes, I did. Nicaragua, and what a beautiful country it is, too.http://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg