ACR ATTEMPTS #2 ENG START NEAR RWY. RECEIVES REQUEST FROM TWR AND ACFT BEHIND TO KEEP PWR DOWN.

Narrative

WE WERE OPERATING WITH AN APU OTS THAT MORNING AND I ELECTED TO START ONLY ONE ENG AT THE GATE DUE TO THE OFTEN ENCOUNTERED LONG GND DELAYS PRIOR TO DEP. WE WERE CLRED TO TAXI N ON INNER TAXIWAY ON W SIDE OF ARPT COMPLEX. UPON REACHING THE END OF THAT TAXIWAY NEAR RWY 18L WE WERE ASKED IF WE COULD TAKE AN IMMEDIATE DEP WHICH WE HAD TO DECLINE BECAUSE IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT A MIN TO STOP AND CROSS BLEED START THE OTHER ENG. WE WERE THEN INSTRUCTED TO TAXI TO RWY 17R OVER THE 18 BRIDGE. WE HAD HEARD NO ONE GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS TO TAXI BEHIND US FROM THAT SIDE OF THE ARPT SO MY INTENTIONS WERE TO START THE OTHER ENG AS SOON AS WE STOPPED SHORT OF THE RWY. WE WERE CLRED TO CHANGE TO TWR FREQ HOLDING SHORT AND IT WAS VERY CONGESTED; AND SINCE I HAD NOT SEEN ANY ACFT TAXIING UP THE INNER TAXIWAY ON THAT SIDE OF THE ARPT THAT I FELT WERE LIKELY TO REACH OUR POS SOON I DECIDED TO START THE SECOND ENG RIGHT AWAY. I DID NOT CLR THIS WITH TWR BECAUSE OF THE CONGESTION. WE RAN THE PWR UP ON THE GOOD ENG TO GET SUFFICIENT PNEUMATIC PRESSURE TO START THE OTHER AND AS WE GOT STARTED WITH THE PROC WE GOT A COMPLAINT FROM AN ACFT BEHIND US AS WELL AS THE TWR TELLING US TO KEEP OUR PWR DOWN. I REDUCED PWR SOME BUT CONTINUED THE START SO AS NOT TO HAVE A START ABNORMAL. THE REMAINDER OF THE START AND TKOF WERE UNEVENTFUL AS WAS THE FLT. IN RETROSPECT I SHOULD HAVE STARTED THE ENG AT THE GATE OR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ARPT WHERE THERE WAS LESS CONGESTION; BUT WITH FUEL ALWAYS A MAJOR CONSIDERATION I WAS RELUCTANT TO SPEND A LENGTHY PERIOD OF TIME ON THE GND WITH BOTH ENGS STARTED. HOWEVER BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM; I WILL IN THE FUTURE START BOTH ENGS SOONER UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.