Having trouble reading this e-mail? Read it online by clicking HERE.

  Home | Features | Usage | Installation | Quick Start | Aircraft | Checklists | Commands | FAQ | Kudos | Forums
Latest News
An Update on Some of the IYP Options!

It's Your Plane
A number of people have contacted me with questions about the various ways to set-up and use the It's Your Plane (IYP) application. There are indeed many options, so perhaps this will serve to shed some light on the subject. Give some of these a try!

Modes of Operation

What a New User First Hears:
You're simulator is running, you have FSUIPC installed, you've loaded a Cessna C172 SkyHawk aircraft, and you're sitting at a gate or in the General Aviation parking area. You have neither created, nor loaded a Flight Plan. This is what you'll hear as a new user when you first start the It's Your Plane (IYP) programme:

    Hi. My name is Michelle. I will be flying along side you today. Please wait while I connect to the It's Your Plane system for correct aircraft, flight plan, checklist and weather information. The system has been initialized for a Cessna 172-SP SkyHawk. Extended Help is on. You can turn off Extended Help at any time by saying, Extended Help off.

    Captain, It's Your Plane... we're ready to go!

    The Origination and Destination airports have not been defined. If this is an IFR or a VFR flight plan, then from the simulator's main menu bar, please click on Flights, then Load to select your planned flight.

Extended Help:
During the 15-Day Trial period, Extended Help is automatically turned on each time you start the IYP programme.

QUESTION:
What’s the difference between running WITH or WITHOUT Extended Help?

ANSWER:
When you are running through the checklists, if you do not respond to a request by Michelle (Mike) within a certain period of time (typically 10 seconds for most checklist items), then she’ll repeat the question. If you do not respond to the request, she’ll repeat the question yet again. After the third time, if you're in the Extended Help mode, she’ll immediately offer Help. Alternatively, if you're running with Extended Help turned off, she’ll ask,

    "Captain, can you not hear me? If you need help, just say, Please help me."
Option Panel

Changing Voice Fonts:
Let's assume that you are under-impressed by the sound quality of Michelle (Microsoft's Default Mary Voice Font on FS9, or Microsoft's Default Anna Voice Font on FSX) and as a result, you've purchased a set of 3rd-Party Voice Fonts. For this example, we'll say that you've decided to use the AT&T Mike Voice Font.

Simply minimise your simulator to gain access to the IYP Control Panel (as shown below), and click on the Options Button:

and (as in this example) select the ATT DTNV1.4 Mike16 Voice Font.

Enter Your Name:
While you're at it, you may elect to enter your Captain's Name (I naturally use Robert). Press Finished on the IYP Control Panel and you'll hear Mike speaking to you.

Getting Familiar:
You’re getting more familiar with the IYP programme, so you’ve turned off Extended Help by saying,

    "Extended Help Off”.

You then close the IYP programme.

Selecting a Flight Plan:
You then selected a Flight Plan from EGHS to EGFF by clicking on Flights>Load in the simulator's Main Menu bar, and re-started the IYP programme.

Re-Launch the It's Your Plane Application:
This is what you'll hear when you launch the IYP application:

Australian Voice Font Example:
Let's assume that you had chosen the Australian Voice Font ScanSoft Karen_Full_22kHz, then this is what you'll hear when you launch the IYP application:

Quick Start Mode:
You’re getting much more familiar with the IYP application, so you say,

This is what you'll hear when you launch the IYP application:

Advanced Mode:
Okay… now you’ve become an IYP Guru! You pretty much know the IYP application inside-and-out, so you say,

This is what you'll hear when you launch the IYP application:

Pre-Flight Checklist in Normal Mode:
Listen to Mike and me running through the Cessna C172 SkyHawk Pre-Flight checklist in the Normal Mode (Advance Mode Deactivated):

Pre-Flight Checklist in Advanced Mode:
Now listen to Mike and me running through the same Pre-Flight checklist in the Advanced Mode:

You'll notice in the Advanced Mode that Mike does not repeat the status of items that are already correctly set. The NORMAL checklist took 1:21 to complete; the Advanced Mode took 1:00… 21 seconds quicker!

While in the Options Panel, you may wish to assign Voice Fonts to specific functions, like VOX Atc.

Assign Your Own Voice-Activated Hot-Keys:
To Create a new Voice Command, enter the phrase into the Phrase box, select the Key Enhancements and Key to be activated, then press Save. To change the Key Enhancements and/or Key Assignment for a specific Command, select the command from the Existing Commands list, make the necessary changes, then press Save. To Delete a command, select it from the Existing Commands list, then press Delete. Press Clear to reset the data entry area.

IYP Control Panel

Sounds Levels:
You can use the Cabin Music and Effects Volume and the My MP3 Music Volume sliders along with the sound levels in your simulator, to get the perfect “real-world” balance of the various sounds.

Run Offline:
Typically you run the IYP application ONLINE. Why? There are three main reasons:

  1. Your flight will be visible to other users in REAL-TIME on the Flight Tracker (top left IYP site)

  2. ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) has the ability to AUTOMATICALLY upload your PIREP (Pilot Reporting) results to the IYP servers, so that you can claim bragging rights about that wonderful flight you made! See:

  3. The ACTUAL REAL-TIME METAR WEATHER can be obtained.

However, there are many places in the world where people have to pay for Internet access on a per-minute basis. In this case, you can run OFFLINE. You’ll only need to go back ONLINE to get programme updates by clicking on the INSTALL SYSTEM icon on the IYP Website.

http://www.ItsYourPlane.com

Auto ACARS:
Placing a checkmark in the Auto ACARS Checkbox will AUTOMATICALLY start the ACARS Logging System provided that you have the aircraft of your choice parked at a gate, or sitting in a General Aviation parking area, with the Engine(s) OFF and the Parking Brakes ON.

Hide Key:
If, for example, you wish to put an IYP video on U-Tube as a number of users have done, you certainly don’t want to make your E-Mail address and Registration Key available to viewers of your video. To hide this information, place a checkmark in the Hide Key checkbox.

Process Priority Checkbox:
Placing a checkmark in the Process Priority Checkbox raises the Priority Level of both the IYP application and the Voice Recognition (SAPI) server. This should only be used with very slow Personal Computers. It will have the effect of stealing CPU cycles from the simulator.

Funny Prompts:
Placing a checkmark in the Funny Prompts Checkbox will result in Michelle and/or Mike giving you some rather sardonic remarks when you make a mistake. Under NORMAL operation (not checked), if you say “Landing Gear Up” while you’re on the tarmac, you’ll hear an ERROR TONE. If you have the Funny Prompts turned on, you’re apt to hear (randomly)…

    "You've got to be joking!"
    "Are you crazy!"
    "Give me a break!"
    "Where did you get your pilots license?"
    "Not a chance!"
    "Now I've heard everything!"
    "I thought you graduated from flight school."
    "You must be kidding!"

etc.

Flight-Following Announcements:
Many users have told me that the coolest It’s Your Plane feature is the Flight-Following Announcements system.

GA Type Aircraft:
If you’re flying a General Aviation (GA) type aircraft, then your trusty Co-Pilot (Mike/Michelle) will be explaining what he/she can see from his/her side of the aircraft, and what you will be able to see to your left throughout the flight. These announcements only happen once the GA type aircraft has climbed above 3,000 feet. The announcements repeat every 20 minutes (or so) on a regular basis. Of course, you can always say,

    “Make a Flight Following Announcement”

at any time.

Jetliners:
If you’re flying a jetliner, then your Co-Pilot will announce to the passengers during boarding,

    "If you tune to channel 7 on your headset, I will be pointing out places of interest throughout our flight."

Then, once the aircraft climbs above FL200 (20,000 feet), he/she will make announcements to the passengers along the way… even giving them the Temperatures in both Celsius and Fahrenheit degrees.

If you wish to deactivate this feature, then you can simply say,

    "Deactivate Flight Following Announcements"

and

    "Activate Flight Following Announcements"

to turn it back on.

The Green Speech Bar:
You can turn the Green Speech Bar ON or OFF by saying,

    “Display Speech Bar”

and

    “Hide Speech Bar”

respectively.

So, there you have it... just a few of the IYP Options. I hope you found this Newsletter helpful.



Have fun!

Robert Cezar
Your IYP Developer.




Robert's Home Page
You are receiving this newsletter as part of your It's Your Plane membership.


Support Forum
Unsubscribe   |   Change my e-mail address

It's Your Plane Support Forum

It's Your Plane - ©2007 Pacific Feelings Media
All rights reserved. It's Your Plane is a registered trademark of Pacific Feelings Media and Robert M. Cezar.

Purchase It's Your Plane Registration Key