the white cloud from the engine was unburnt fuel. The early RB211-22 engines were very slow to ignite the fuel and get the fire going during a cold start and pumped copious amounts of fuel vapour out the back.
Yes but the TWA pilots did not help by putting fuel/ign on ridiculously early. We always waited to max motoring, they put it in at 15pc. So many times I stood on the headset watching the cul-de-sac fill with white smoke, and then the fire engines turn up!
We had a Tristar with -22Bs that only flew at the weekends from ARN in the winter. So Friday mornings we went out, swept the snow out of the intakes ( and the S duct), and started it up. As it started to rotate, the oil press went off-scale high, and the oil quantity went down to zero. Then fuel/ign on, and after about 30 secs the grumble starts, and stops, and starts again as the engine staggers into life. Enrich ON, and watch the TGT. It took 3-4 mins of starter engagement to get to self sustaining. The oil could take ages to warm up, then the pressure slowly came down, and finally the oil qty recovered.
There were many changes of the start design, different bleed valves powered etc but the problem on the -22B was the surge line was so close to the steady running line, there was not much accel fuel available, until you got to flight idle.