A Long Flight: How to Start the Engine (and What to Check First)

Quick answer

Sit in the pilot seat (press E) and hold M to start the engine — or look at the ignition and hold M. The engine only starts once the plane is fully put back together, with the ignition installed last.

Starting the plane is the last thing A Long Flight's tutorial teaches — TUTORIAL 8/8, "Start the engine," in the starting hangar. It comes down to two things: rebuild the plane, then hold one key.

What must be in place before you press M

The tutorial keeps the start step open while the plane is still in pieces — its own text reads "Put the rest of Rusty back together first: 1 part still missing. The ignition goes in last." Before trying the key, work through:

Checklist

• Engine installed at the nose

  Look at the engine part and press [F] to install it.

• Ignition installed in the cockpit

  Follow the yellow IGNITION waypoint, pick up the ignition unit and press [F]. The tutorial is explicit that it goes in last.

Fueling comes up in the same tutorial setup, too: carry a kerosene canister to the red fuel cap on the CARGO side of the fuselage and hold [R] to pour.

How to start the engine

The on-screen tutorial gives two ways:

1. From the pilot seat: press [E] to sit down, then hold [M].
2. From outside: look at the ignition and hold [M].

Both come straight from the tutorial text, so you can crank the engine without sitting down first. [M] is the engine-start key among the game's controls.

If holding M does nothing

[M] doesn't always produce an instant start. The first thing to check is the tutorial's own rule: the start step stays open while any part is missing. Walk the plane, confirm the engine is on the nose and the ignition unit is in the cockpit installed last, then hold [M] from the pilot seat again.

Once the engine is running

From the pilot seat you can taxi to the takeoff road, apply full throttle and take off. The process repeats all game long: after landing and shutting the engine down, you start it again the same way to move on. For the next steps, see how to take off and fly, the first flight walkthrough and the preflight checklist.