Happy Saturday!!! ... I have some time to resolve my issues with this neat a/c and I hope that some kind soul will give me a hand.1. Does the external power work? If so, how can I tell if it's available ... when I turn the ext pwr switch ... there is no power available. Described in P 56 of the Manual Pt 12. AC Bus Tie Switch ... is this what people are saying does not work? Described on P 56. On P 63, the DC Bus Tie Switch appears to be the same as the AC Bus Tie ... are they in fact the same ... with "right" and "left" meaning AC and DC respectively? Very confusingI am very frustrated (and I feel LAME and very STUPID) that I cannot start the engines other than with CTRL+e. Since it seems that many of you have started the engines, I hope one of you nice folks will look at what I am doing and help me out.I have run the ACE config and set up with all the goodies. Although there seems to be very little correspondence between ACE and what I get when I start FS. For instance, the a/c load seems fine, but the fuel ... which I set in ACE to be 50% in all tanks (and no ext tanks) is 100% all around?? odd.Here is how I try to start the engines:1. Start fs with the default cessna, pick an airport any airport, shut down the engine, turn off the batteries2. Choose the CS herc 130E ... USAF3. Up comes the herc with battery on, condition levers in run, 1,2,3 & 4 boost pumps and xfeeds on and open although the fuel gauges are dead and Low Press lights are lit. Not exactly "Cold and Dark" .. hmmmmm.4. open the gtc door, power up, when "on speed", turn on bleed, note manifold pressure of 35% ... turn on ATM .. reset and turn on ATM Gen ... note ac volt and freq ... appears active and ok5. leave DC bus tie to left (I am confused about the DC Bus tie .. in the doc it is discussed as AC Bus tie and DC bus tie ...)6. Open left wing Isol valve, open #1 bleed, turn all temp datum switches to auto, all fuel enrichment to normal (they were already there)7. push and hold the starter for #1 ... I hear an increasing volume of "virtual air" but even after 40 seconds nothing happens, no engine start. I've gone through this multiple times, starting from within ACE, from FS .. nothing seems to make any difference.I can start the engines with ctrl+e, then shut down 1,2 & 3 and do a cross bleed start ... HELP!!!Thanks in advance!!!!

Good Morning Paul,1. I have also not been able to get external power to work 2. Make sure that you press Contol+shift+F4 before pushing the start switch :0)Fly safe

Dave,Thanks very much for the "tip" ctl+shft+f4 indeed did the trick ... yikes ... like bowing to the east 5 times, and other incantations ... hahahaha. O well, I also found that if you start with the engines with ctl+e, then shut the whole thing down .... you can power up and engines will start. Also found that you can power back by putting the engines in reverse with a mouseclick on the throttles ... each separately ... not sure if it is SOP on a Herc to ever do that .. works fine for ATRs and MD80s.Well ... off to learn the AP ... heading select seems fine, alt hold seems fine, localizer intercept works fine ... it's glideslope intercept that seems flaky ... intercepting from under ... the GS makes me climb ... clicking glide just when the needle hits the center ... makes the a/c climb ???? ... have to try again ... Have done 2 flights ... SAN to LAX 25R ... the aircraft seems to me to really handle well manually, easy to trim out ... not to difficult to land ..The sounds sound great to me but for the looping .. that sould be edited a bit better I would think ... and the GTC start needs a bit of editing I think ... kinda ends very quickly.I do like this aircraft, and I think CS has done a really good job with it ... AC Essential power issues notwithstanding.Lots and lots to read and learn!!!!Well, thanks again for the help!!!!