Engine dies at start of missions

So, I bought the MiG-15 a long time ago (when it came out) but haven't ever flown it. Finally decided to give it a try. I did the four training missions and the first SP mission (escort).

In every one of these missions (except the cold start mission, of course), as soon as the mission starts, the engine dies. The fuel lever is set to off at the start of the mission. I have to call the ground crew and start manually if it's on the ground, and do an air restart if it's in the air. Kind of a pain.

On the SP mission, the planes I'm supposed to escort never leave the base area, and the enemy never take off from the base.

It's sad that there aren't more missions for this plane, and particularly since the missions that exist don't work.