Starting a Piston Engine at High Elevation Airfields

I recently watched a film that was shot in Bhutan and I thought that the scenery was absolutely stunning so I decided to go and have a fly around there. I launched the sim with the G36 Bonanza (Improvement Project) C&D at Paro (VQPR) which is at an elevation of some 7,500ft. I was unable to start the engine despite following my normal checklist and leaning the mixture off before attempting a start. I have tried this several times now with the mixture in various positions from full rich to almost idle/cut out and failed at every attempt.

What am I missing/doing wrong.

You might be doing nothing wrong, but you are simply not able to start that engine at that pressure. Every piston engine has its own limits in this. Try it when it is really cold; that might just do the trick. Otherwise, you will have to get some means of transporting the aircraft to a lower altitude.

Mathijs Kok
PMDG

Thank you Mathijs. I haven’t been able to get onto the sim for the last few days as I have injured my hand but when I can I will follow up on your tip. I might also try the XCub which, as it is fuel injected might work better than a carburettor engine.

Hi @Albatross75160
I’ve tried multiple starts at that airport with the G36 without any issues. 7500’ isn’t even half its rated max altitude, so it shouldn’t have any particular issue starting the engine at that altitude.
Something to try:
Remove the Improvement project mod and see if you can start the engine then using the standard provided checklists. If that works, put the mod back in and see if it starts. If not, it’s a mod issue. So either the mod has an issue, or the prestart and start engine checklists (or other information provided with the mod) for that mod require something you’re not doing with your standard checklist.
If there aren’t any checklists provided with the mod, go back and use the standard checklist and make sure everything is being completed and see if that helps get it started.
Regards

Umm, the G36 is fuel injected…