How do I know when I am at Idle-Stop Position?

Hi,

I am learning ramp (cold and dark) start.

For that, I am using Chuck's Guide.

At step 34 it is said "Throttle up to Idle-Stop (Start) Position".

How do I know I am at Idle Stop Position?

Is there a visual cue or something?

I am using the Page Up key to throttle up.

the way the sim handles the idle stop is a bit awkward.

so you are better off setting the idle stop before you start the starter and not at 15%

the idle stop stops you from putting the throttle to zero and turning off the engine in flight.

I think the real start position is slightly lower than the idle stop position. that is set with the idle stop button.

but we don't need to worry about that in the sim.

just set the idle stop and start the engine.

I think you would get a hot start using idle in a real Huey?

My guess is that official procedure is to have throttle rotated just prior to the "catch" where the stop button needs to be depressed to rotate to its minimum position so that if the start needs to be aborted it can be done quickly and reliably without needing to press the button.

I don't think the idle position, against the stop on the operating side, and the start position (just short of the stop) are significantly different in terms of engine operation. The manual says "as near as possible (on decrease side) to the engine idle stop."

What I do if I want to replicate the real procedure is set the throttle above the stop, twist until I reach the stop, and then while holding the stop button twist the throttle the minimum amount below the stop point. Then during start when I'm sure I want to progress to idle I throttle up a small amount and then come back to reset against the stop.

But most times I just set it to the idle stop on the front side and just start it. I don't have the safety of quickly rolling to shutoff without the stop but oh well.

Hello mates,

Many thanks for your help, much appreciated.

What I do is:

1. Set throttle to Idle-Stop as per Chuck's Guide

2. Press Start (Home key): here I don't know why Chuck says "increase to Idle-Stop" since the throttle is already at Idle-Stop. Moreover, I notice at this stage that I have to thottle past Idle-Stop a bit to get to 40% N1

I realized that when I started, I was a bit lower than Idle-Stop.

Nom I start at Idle-Stop and all is fine.

Solved.

Thanks all.