It's Your Plane.    Published by Robert Cezar.    Reviewed by David Lolley. December 2008.

How many times have you been about to prepare your FS9 or FSX aircraft for flight, and the thought flashes into your mind, “I wish that I had a Co-Pilot like the real aircraft usually have, certainly in the case of airliners, and he could get on with some of these tasks instead of me having to do everything?” Well if that thought has entered your mind, then ‘It’s Your Plane’ (IYP) has come to your rescue, for it provides you with a virtual Co-Pilot, depending on your choice with a female Co-Pilot Michelle, or a male Co-Pilot Mike, who will crack on with all sorts of tasks, with all you having to do is sometimes issue a command, or just say a few simple words like “Checked” or “Affirmative.”  

‘It’s Your Plane’ (IYP) is a new program that takes full advantage of the Microsoft voice recognition features, which you could fully utilise in Windows XP or Vista, after you have downloaded from Microsoft a few of the items needed to fully connect this program to your computer. The voice recognition system has been embraced by the business user of computers to help with work flow and the like, for some time now and by private users for various reasons connected with their use of the computer. Experience shows that the reliability of voice command programs shows that after using the voice training exercises, the computer should recognise around 95% of all the words spoken, and in most normal situations nearer to 100%. The program has been produced by a gifted Canadian by the name of Robert Cezar, who also writes some good music! IYP as I will call it from now on, comes in the form of a download, and there is a free to use demo version, which will allow you to fly two flights from Seattle in the Cessna 172 Skyhawk. This demo is sufficient to show you the power of the program, as you see how your Co-Pilot will set everything up from a cold and dark cockpit to a circuit and landing with you controlling the aircraft and the second flight with a complete ILS landing on Runway 34R. Knowing that many of the items dealt with by your Co-Pilot in the Cessna 172, will also be required to be carried out in a much more advanced airliner, will I believe show you how invaluable this program could be to you. IYP does a lot more than letting you talk to the simulator via the Microsoft Speech SDK. It is more than a speech recognition program, it will talk to you and let you talk to IYP using flight simulation related phrases. You talk to your Co-Pilot in a natural way using the phraseology that real pilots use.

Because this review was required early for the Christmas 2008 issue, I have not had time to try IYP in FS9 for any length of time, but it did work for me. Have a look on the IYP website (www.itsyourplane.com) and you will see many testimonials by very satisfied FS9 flyers. I have done the tests with FSX and Windows XP home Edition, with both those programs having all the latest updates installed.

I had already carried out the voice training exercises that the Microsoft voice recognition advises, because of my use of Vox ATC, so I was able to go straight into IYP and prepare to fly with my Co-Pilot recognising all of my commands or replies. The voice training is not arduous, and you should be well set up within twenty minutes. You could use a separate microphone and your loudspeakers, but I would suggest that a headset and boom mike will work much better, leaving you hands free to carry out all the tasks involved in flying.

It is possible with IYP to even carry out a complete flight with you sitting watching from the aircraft cockpit or from the outside in spot view as Michelle or Mike safely fly your aircraft from cold and dark through to parking at the stand. That may be a fun way to do it, but I believe most of you will wish to be seated in the cockpit watching your highly skilled Co-Pilot deal with all the settings, instruments and controls, or when required you can be the Pilot in control and the Co-Pilot will carry out whatever tasks you wish them to do when you vocally issue the command. How many of us have been desperately trying to cope with the demands of ATC, change the frequencies on the radios, set the flaps, set the altitude, deal with the undercarriage and set the course, sometimes all of this within the space of just a few seconds, and we have said to ourselves, “Now I know why they always have a Co-Pilot.”

Now with IYP you will be able to do all of that with just a few quick verbal commands, while you get on with answering ATC whether that is the virtual ATC from the flight simulator itself, RCV4, VOC ATC or a real VATSIM or IVAO controller. What’s more, you will be amazed at the speed that IYP carries out your commands. For instance, call for “Set heading 270 degrees” and within one second that heading has been selected, no more having to position the mouse cursor over the heading knob, and then click, click, click, until the heading bug reaches 270. The same is true of all the other instruments that require different setting from time to time. This feature alone makes the program worth the money!

The aircraft that work with IYP are listed for FS9 and FSX on their website, the program works with all the default aircraft and a number of others, e.g. the PMDG 737-600 and 700 aircraft work with IYP in FS9. New aircraft from the growing list of commercially produced aircraft are being added all the time and as time goes on the aircraft covered should be fairly extensive. Full Checklists, which include what you or your Co-Pilot should say are available for download from the IYP website and can then be printed out for use while you are flying. If you have allowed the Co-Pilot to switch on the extended help and you then say the incorrect words, or make incorrect commands or replies, he or she will advise you on what choices you have. The extended help can be activated or de-activated just by requesting one or the other from the Co-Pilot. Also as a matter of interest, if you select Flight Following from the program, your Co-Pilot will talk to the passengers, telling them what they can see on the right or the left of the aircraft plus other bits of information like the weather and temperature. They will also switch on and off the cabin music - you have the choice of playing some of Robert Cezar’s own compositions, or you can load up some of your own MP3 music.

Voice commands can be made for ACARS, Autopilot, Checklists, Cockpit, Controls, Engines, Weather, FMC, Fuel, General, Overhead panel, Radios, PMDG specific, Level–D specific, Simulation i.e. pause and start, and finally Values. What I like about this program is that you can do as much of the flying and setting instruments, radios and the like yourself, and just give your Co-Pilot some of the tasks, or you can make them do much more of the work, just say the word, and the Co-Pilot will obey your command. Newbie’s to flight simulation will love this program, no matter if they don’t know where to even look for the battery switch, or try to remember which keyboard stroke, or button on their flight stick or yoke will control the flaps, just ask Mike or Michelle and it will be dealt with. More experienced simulation pilots will really value the help they can get with setting up a complex airliner. Also, when flying over interesting new territory or VFR scenery, it’s great to be able to look out of the cockpit and enjoy the view while letting your Co-Pilot look after the settings.

During my early experience with IYP, I had cause to contact support for advice, the replies were fast and detailed. Just remember that they are in Canada and there is a time difference. Although I have to say I was delighted one day when I sent an early morning query and then thought I would get a reply later in the afternoon, Robert Cezar had got up at 4 am for some reason or another, spotted my email and I had a reply back within minutes. On another occasion it was a Sunday and again I fully expected to have to wait until Monday for a reply, again I received a very prompt reply. Now that kind of service is very valuable and it helps to make this program a bit special. There is also a very good FAQ section and forum on the IYP website and in fact probably most, if not all your questions will already have been answered there.

As I was finalizing this review, information came in that IYP has been updated to allow it to be used on a separate computer across a network using Pete Dowson’s WideFS. This will free up resources on the computer being used for flight simulator, and instead of a thin text bar across the top of the screen, which shows the Co-Pilot’s response, you will get a full page text display of the Co-Pilot’s voice. This paragraph is reproduced from the update information. “IYP is often used as a training tool by new simmers. If simmers are not sure what to do next, or where control switches and buttons can be found, all they need to say is, "Please help me." The Co-Pilot responds with a detailed explanation of the needed maneuver, or describes where the switch can be found on the instrument panel. The new Dialogue Window enables the simmer to read (and re-read if necessary) the detailed instructions just given by the Co-Pilot. The text remains on the screen until the Pilot issues another command”.

I highly recommend this program to all, whether you fly GA or Airline aircraft, it is something Flight Simulator has needed for a long time. I suggest that you go to the IYP website www.itsyourplane.com click on the Video button and watch a Cessna 172, a Boeing 747, or a PMDG aircraft being prepared for flight or actually flying, complete with the voices of the Pilot and Co-Pilot.

 

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