I know there are addons that simulate copilots in tube liners but is there anything out there that adds interactive and audio checklists (like this)or in flight banter for GA planes?

Try MCE...

 

They have a version that works with all planes and since it is able to be highly customized should work well.. The smallest plane I have used it on is the B1900. Check them out here. Free demo as well to test your application

 

"Supports all default FSX and FS9 aircraft, as well as many third party aircraft add-ons. And the list is growing."

 

http://www.multicrewxp.com/

 

Jeff

I second this, even if I mainly use it to tune radios and manage the autopilot so that I doing have to fiddle with all those knobs.

That would be a great choice if it wasn't for, once again, IMO the robotic voices.

That would be a great choice if it wasn't for, once again, IMO the robotic voices.

 

Ugg, that would be bad. Didn't I see voicepacks for this program in the sound section?

Ugg, that would be bad. Didn't I see voicepacks for this program in the sound section?

 

Sure, possibly. Don't make any decisions based on my say so, just that I got the demo of MCE and thought it was hideous, just goes to show, one man's meat is another man's poison! I agree with you though, I have often thought it would be good to have something similar to FS2Crew for GA. Tell you what I have for the NGX, in addition to FS2Crew, a freebie and it's brilliant. FDSFX OK, it's a little basic in it's implementation, ie, you have to click a switch to play the individual sound files, but I have it on a second screen, along with my other instruments, and have something playing during most of the flight, whether it's ATC chatter, or in flight announcements, or just some music that I have prerecorded. Check it out, it may not be exactly what you're after, but it is more than a worthwhile addon IMO. If you want you can simply change some of the sound files for anything you like, as I have done.

http://youtu.be/0Vuuaaftvj0

Ugg, that would be bad. Didn't I see voicepacks for this program in the sound section?

I hope they have removed the old videos by now. Don't worry, the later program comes with some decent voices and you are right, you can download some additional (and free) ones too.

 

I wouldn't want the computer text to speech thingies. A flight with Stephen Hawking would be a blast, but not so much on the actual sound of his voice part. ^_^

 

Howard's tip looks good too. It surely adds some atmosphere.

MCE without a doubt. It has some good pre-recorded voice sets.

I use Cepstral or Ivona TTS voices - in that way I have a very 'calm-voiced' female F/O

That would be a great choice if it wasn't for, once again, IMO the robotic voices.

 

How recently did you try the demo? As someone else has pointed out, the current version comes with recorded voices that sound pretty natural (although I think one of them is a recording of a top-end Text-To-Speech voice). For any app that uses text to speech, the extra expense of one or more proper third-party voices gives you a massive improvement over the default Microsoft voices. In addition to Cepstral and Ivona, which everyone recommends, I heartily recommend a company called Cereproc, who specialise in doing UK regional voices. Thanks to them my flight attendant is now a northern lass!

 

Much as I love MCE, I'm not sure how good a fit it is for GA. On smaller aircraft it switches from copilot mode to "instructor mode", basically just pointing out all your mistakes. I don't know if there's a way to override that.

 

The other copilot app I looked at was It's Your Plane, which looks better suited to GA. Unlike MCE, which can only really flick switches, IYP can take over the flight controls to the point of being able to takeoff, fly and land entirely by voice (one of it's advertised uses is as an aid for blind flight-simmers). there's a free limited demo, restricted to the default Cessna 172. I found it pretty good, but unfortunately the demo disables all the features I was particularly looking to try, so I went with MCE. But IYP seems to have a lot of fans and might be a better fit for your needs.

 

Dr V

How recently did you try the demo? As someone else has pointed out, the current version comes with recorded voices that sound pretty natural (although I think one of them is a recording of a top-end Text-To-Speech voice). For any app that uses text to speech, the extra expense of one or more proper third-party voices gives you a massive improvement over the default Microsoft voices. In addition to Cepstral and Ivona, which everyone recommends, I heartily recommend a company called Cereproc, who specialise in doing UK regional voices. Thanks to them my flight attendant is now a northern lass!

 

Much as I love MCE, I'm not sure how good a fit it is for GA. On smaller aircraft it switches from copilot mode to "instructor mode", basically just pointing out all your mistakes. I don't know if there's a way to override that.

 

The other copilot app I looked at was It's Your Plane, which looks better suited to GA. Unlike MCE, which can only really flick switches, IYP can take over the flight controls to the point of being able to takeoff, fly and land entirely by voice (one of it's advertised uses is as an aid for blind flight-simmers). there's a free limited demo, restricted to the default Cessna 172. I found it pretty good, but unfortunately the demo disables all the features I was particularly looking to try, so I went with MCE. But IYP seems to have a lot of fans and might be a better fit for your needs.

 

Dr V

 

Hi Dr V, thanks for the info. Maybe I'll try and check out some recent vids on YT

If you want a Co-Pilot, why not get a REAL one !!! .. another Human.

 

MULTIPLAYER ... SHare you cockpit with a fellow pilot, and experience the reality.

 

It's fun, and educational, to fly with another Human, and share the experience with another person, as opposed to a pre-programmed computer voice.

 

Programs like MCE are great, and work well, but you may also want to experience flying with another Human as well.

 

(Obviously, you problem then becomes, FINDING a suitable Human to fly with .. not always easy !!)

I'm not interested at all in the voice command feature, which seems to be what MCE addon is best suited for.

 

Does MCE demo uninstall fully and properly? I really don't wish to mess up my FSX setup and install in order to try this complex addon.