The sim models the quirks of engine operation and staying within limits, but it doesn't really feature in-depth checlists for every aircraft that will bite you in the behind if you do things wrong.
In that sense, there's a generic and easy way to get things rolling in almost every aircraft if not all of them:
1) Turn on batteries, fuel cocks and fuel tank selectors if the airplane has them. In aircraft with air-cooled radials, turn on the carb heat if the engines refuse to start due to low outside temperatures.
2) Turn on magnetos.
3) If the aircraft is equipped with a primer pump use it 2-4 times to pump some fuel into the engine. I see a lot of people saying using the hand-pump helps, but in many aircraft that is an emergency pump for lowering gear/flaps/etc when your hydraulics are shot out and not a fuel pump. Experiment with it and see if it makes any difference.
3) Mixture full rich.
4) For most aircraft, prop pitch set for highest RPM. There are a few exceptions here and there but usually most aircraft start with the RPM on high setting.
5) "Crack" the throttle, that means to just advance it a bit (about 10% of the way or so).
6) Press the "I" key to engage the starter.
From that point on, just "jiggle" the throttle to keep the engine from stalling initially. When you get to the point that you can keep a steady idle, step on the brakes and advance throttle a bit to idle around 1000 RPM (800-1200 is good for most aircraft), since otherwise the spark plugs get dirty and you lose performance. I'm not sure if the sim models this, but in any case you can prevent it by idling a bit higher.
Also, run-up the engines before take-off to clean any spark plug fouling and ensure top power. Finally, turn off the carb heat before taking off with an aircraft that has radial air-cooled engines, because running with carb heat on during take-off thins the air too much in the carbs and it's like you're running with too rich mixture, ie the engines will choke.
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