#5 – ENGINE STARTING PROCEDURE

The Wizard has seen many pilots starting their engines with the inverters and avionics buses on. Not only does this unnecessarily load the batteries, but the voltage surge through the electrical system at the instant of start termination can be very damaging to your avionics components. The only engine instruments that are AC powered are the oil pressure indicators. They are backed up by the "ENGINE OIL PRESS LOW" lights on the annunciator panel, which are DC powered. During engine start, they will extinguish when the engine oil pressure has reached 25 psi. By monitoring them during engine start you can determine that engine oil pressure is in limits. (Reference 1124/1124A Flight Manual, Section IV, "Starting Engines Using Battery Power", paragraph 9.g.)

We suggest you review your engine starting procedures and leave the inverters and avionics buses off until both engines have been started. Your CFO will appreciate it.