Mixture control was a real mess in this sim until IvanK got it all straightened out with the devs. Different models of the same plane had different mixture procedures!
Here's an example: "Full Rich is not Auto Rich and is in the reverse position to that of the real Spitfire. On take off you must ease the mixture control forward from its closed-throttle Full Lean (not Auto Lean) position to its incorrect fully forward Full Rich position to get revs up to 3000 rpms and have the engine running smoothly. Unless, of course, you open the throttle gate to activate Boost Control Over Ride -- in which case you must pull the lever back to Full Lean (not Auto Lean) to avoid shaking your aircraft to pieces.....which is not correct in a real Spitfire."
Mercifully, some of the Hurries and Spits wouldn't even START UP on the airfield, which saved a bit of mixture-aggravation but made it much more difficult to shoot down enemy aircraft, even the slow ones.....
Ah, memories! But it was tough explaining this to a new player. The current (and historically correct) technique is to just pull the mixture fully back into its Auto Rich position and leave it there. So much easier!