If you can start the engine with Ctrl-E you should be able to start it manually.Here is the procedure I follow.Press Shift-5 to bring up the Startup Panel.Turn ON the Battery and Gen switchesTurn on the Master switch (located between the Magneto switches) It should show as all whiteNow turn on the Magneto switches: The left magneto with the right mouse button The right Man with the left mouse button The mag switches should be in the horizontal positionTurn on both OIL switches. To start the Left Engine - Turn on the left FUEL switch (buzzing sound) - Hold the Primer Switch in the left ON position at least 5 seconds - Click the left START switch ON (will whine) - Click the left VIB swtch ON while the START is still whining.The left engine should now cough into life.Right Engine: repeat the above steps After both engines are running turn OFF the OIL and FUEL switches.Good luck and Happy Flying.Bill

Maybe I should uninstall it and try re-installing it? I know what I am doing and it just isn't doing! I have had problems before sometimes with add-on aircraft as it's a hobby of mine, most notably the CNTL-F4 "fuel on/off" function with for example the CS707, but this is weird since even once I get the engines started and turn one off, the switch still does not work for me.Other than that, what an excellent aircraft! I've got the R4D down to a complete stop just before the taxiway charlie on runway 13, and then backtaxied and got her wheels up before that same taxiway again, with mostly a full tank and load - I know the R4D was a sweet plane but that sweet?!

Bill,I couldn't get my DC-3 started except by reving up the default model and then switching. Also Radeon Card-no trouble with my old Nvidia.Tried bringing up the "little" screen. Started immediately. Doesn't even matter which view.Also, noted some start problems with BT. Same solution worked perfectly.HP

Hi Guys,I'm afraid I am having the same problem but with a ...nVidia FX5900 XT !I quite recently upgraded all my siming computer by swithching from a XP1900+/512Meg/FX5200 to a Athlon 64 3200+/1 Gb Corsair brand/MSI K8 Neo motherboard/FX 5900XT and guess what: After formating my HD and making a fresh install of FS2004 over Win XP Pro SP1, the R4D won't start !!!I checked the FLT files and changed the values as required but to no avail, only to open another view (both tower or spot will work on my system) make the R4D able to start.My 2 cents: to open another window add load to the CPU and bring back the fps to what I had before on a single view with my older computer, isn't the bug related to very fast CPUs ????Hope it will help,altack

It sure looks that way.I tried opening one small window and it didn't help.Then i opened 2 small windows and the plane started up like it should.Looks like it won't work on fast computers LOL:)