Too quick to announce successfull engine start?

[rnczyzcontrol 2]

So maybe it's just me, but...

Seems like the F/O is really eager to call a successful engine start. On my plane, he calls it when we reach about 40% N2. At that point, the start hasn't even kicked off yet.....

I assume this call is just based on a timer? Maybe its just because its still winter(ish) in Canada, so the cold starts go slower. He just seems to jump the gun. Any way this can be delayed a little bit longer...

 

P.S. Thank you for the written manual. I know you wanted to move away from it but it really is nice to have, and your comments in the written manual are also very helpful. It's not for everyone, but us old farts prefer something real to hold, and study.

[byork 2,260]

The engine start call goes on timing, so results will vary a bit.  We'll ask Hans (the CRJ aircraft programmer) if there's a fool proof way of detecting that the engines have fully started.

 

[Chock 17,769]

Not sure if this helps you, but generally speaking, I find that once the crew knows the engine start is going to be okay, they usually let me know on the headset really quickly when I'm pushing airliners out, because they want to towbar off and the tug clear so they can get taxying ASAP, so you could just pretend that your virtual co-pilot is doing that if you find he's calling it out a bit quickly.

I can't remember if crews tended to do that on CRJs because its ages since I've done an engine start on one of those, but it is certainly true on Embraer 145/135s, which is basically pretty similar to the CRJ. The airliners with engines which sometimes take absolutely ages to start are the ones on the new 737 Max and A320NEO, because they have a not got a very rigid central spindle on the engine, so it starts up slow to allow it to control the temperature slowly in order to avoid warping that spindle.

Be aware too, that in real life (and possibly in your sim too), there is quite a difference in how fast the engines start up on an airliner depending on the ambient temperature and the temperature of the engine (for example if it is still warm from having been recently run and then restarted on a fast turnaround), so this might be a factor in your sim depending on what weather you have set.

Bizarrely, A320 NEO engines and 737 MAX engines start up quicker from cold than they do if they are still warm from a previous flight because of that spindle issue and the reduced risk of warping it when it is cold and rigid, whereas you'd think it would be the other way around, like it is with cars where they start up instantly if the engine is already warm.