Voice Tune
Voice Tune lets you adjust the B draft with push-to-talk voice commands or typed commands, in plain language. Speech recognition runs locally on your machine after a one-time model download — audio is never uploaded for recognition.
Voice Tune is opt-in. Out of the box:
- Voice Tune is disabled.
- The wake-phrase requirement is enabled.
- Speech-back is disabled.
- Keyboard push-to-talk defaults to
F9. - No joystick push-to-talk button is assigned.
- Recognition runs locally using the downloaded Whisper model. Audio is not uploaded for recognition.
- Raw microphone buffers are never stored in feedback reports.
- Failed-phrase logs store text diagnostics, not audio.
- Report phrase sends only safe text context and diagnostics — never recordings.
The model manifest and model file download from FFB-Bridge once. After that, recognition uses the local file.
First-time setup
- Open Voice Tune.
- Turn the feature on.
- Download the default recognition model if prompted. The default is Whisper base.en.
- Select or refresh your microphone input device.
- Confirm the mic-level meter moves when you speak.
- Keep the default keyboard push-to-talk, or bind a joystick button.
- Try a typed command first, then a push-to-talk command.
Push-to-talk
Voice Tune listens only while push-to-talk is held, or while a typed command is being run — it is not always-listening. Supported input styles:
- Keyboard push-to-talk, default
F9. - Joystick push-to-talk, when you bind a button.
- Typed command input, handy for testing wording without a microphone.
Typed commands don't require the wake phrase. Microphone commands normally do.
Wake phrases
By default, microphone commands must start with one of:
BridgeTuneFFB
For example:
- Bridge reduce runway rumble
- Tune make the stick heavier
- FFB set engine rumble to 20 percent
A phrase without a wake word is ignored, with a missing-wake-phrase status. This keeps ordinary cockpit chatter from changing your tuning.
Stop phrases work without a wake word so you can kill forces fast — for example panic, stop forces, stop all forces, forces off, or force feedback off.
What the page shows
After each command, the Voice Tune page shows what the recognizer heard, what the app understood, the result message, whether a change was applied to B, recognition/speech/NLU status, and recent failed phrases. During the beta this is how you (and support) tell whether a problem was microphone capture, recognition, interpretation, or tuning application.
How to phrase a command
Most commands follow one shape: wake word + action + control and, optionally, an amount. For example Bridge · reduce · runway rumble · by 20 percent.
The commands below are literal English — recognition runs the English-only base model, so the tables are not translated. You don't have to be exact: each control answers to many synonyms (all listed), and the verbs and amounts mix freely. If a phrase misses, try the bold name or type it in the command box.
Try these
Hold push-to-talk and say any of these. They cover most of what Voice Tune can do — adjust a force, fix a feel, audition a change, ask a question, or stop everything.
- “Bridge make the stick heavier” — firm up the centring
- “Bridge ease off the runway rumble” — calm a ground vibration
- “FFB set engine rumble to 15 percent” — dial a control to an exact value
- “Tune disable nosewheel shimmy” — switch one effect off
- “Bridge increase force gain a lot” — a big relative change
- “Bridge bump up the stall buffet” — make a warning easier to feel
- “Bridge increase elevator strength” — a trim change (it asks you to confirm)
- “Bridge too much vibration” — one phrase fixes a whole group
- “Bridge soft preset” — a gentler whole-stick feel
- “Bridge what makes it shake” — ask which force is dominant
- “Bridge what changed” — review your recent voice edits
- “Bridge switch to B” … “Bridge keep B” — audition the draft, then commit it
- “Bridge undo that” — step back the last change
- “Bridge help” — hear what you can say
- “stop forces” — emergency stop — works even without a wake word
The wake word can be Bridge, Tune, or FFB — they're interchangeable. The full list of every control and command is in the tables below.
Adjustable controls
Every control Voice Tune can change is below, grouped like the Tuning page. Say the bold name (or any listed phrasing) together with a verb from the next section — e.g. turn down engine rumble, set cruise reference to 250 knots, or disable nosewheel shimmy.
| Control | What it changes | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | ||
| Master force | Every force at once — the master volume. | master, master gain, overall force, overall strength, global force, all forces, everything |
| Stick feel & centring | ||
| Spring strength | How firmly the stick is pulled back to centre. | spring, spring force, centering force / strength / spring, center force / strength, stick force / weight / strength / stiffness, yoke force / weight |
| Spring deadband | Free play around centre before the spring bites. | spring dead zone, centering deadband, center deadband / dead zone, free play, freeplay, stick slack, yoke slack |
| Low-speed spring floor | Minimum centring at low speed so taxi isn't limp. | low speed spring, spring floor, ground spring floor, taxi spring, parking spring, spring at low speed |
| Deadband low-speed widening | How much the deadband widens slow to kill ramp jitter. | low speed deadband / widening, deadband widening, deadband at low speed, ground / taxi / ramp deadband |
| G-load gain | Extra stiffness under G in turns and pull-ups. | g load, g-load, g force, g force gain, g loading, g gain, gload gain |
| Control-edge trigger | How close to the stops the edge force begins. | edge trigger, control edge start, edge start, edge of travel trigger, stick / travel edge trigger |
| Control-edge gain | Strength of the firming force near full deflection. | edge gain, edge force, control edge force, edge of travel force, stick / travel edge force |
| Max output force | Hard ceiling on pitch/roll force before clipping. | maximum output force, output force, force limit, output limit, max / maximum force, force / output ceiling |
| Airspeed load | ||
| Force gain | How much the stick loads up as airspeed builds. | airspeed / speed force, force at speed, airspeed / speed load, dynamic pressure force, stronger / weaker at speed, airspeed effect, speed loading |
| Cruise reference (kt) | The airspeed where the load hits its designed strength. | cruise speed reference, cruise ref, reference speed, speed reference, cruise speed, reference knots |
| Trim — these ask to confirm | ||
| Elevator strength | How much pitch trim eases the held force and shifts centre. | elevator trim, elevator / pitch trim authority, pitch trim, trim authority, trim force, elevator / pitch trim strength |
| Aileron strength | The same for roll trim. | aileron trim, aileron / roll trim authority, roll trim, aileron / roll trim strength |
| Stick-alive & dynamic | ||
| Rotation kick | Sharp kick at stall break / spin entry. | rotation kick gain, rotation snap, snap kick, snap force, stall break kick, spin entry kick |
| Surface follow | Backdrive and flutter from airflow over the controls. | surface follow gain, surface backdrive, control surface follow / backdrive, airflow surface force, surface force |
| Sideslip coupling | A roll cue when you're out of coordination. | sideslip coupling gain, sideslip force, slip coupling, slip force, coordination cue / force, rudder slip cue |
| Rate damping — pitch | Opposes pitch rate so inputs settle instead of ringing. | pitch rate damping, pitch damping, pitch gain, rate damping pitch, pitch damping gain |
| Rate damping — roll | The same on the roll axis. | roll rate damping, roll damping, roll gain, rate damping roll, roll damping gain |
| Stick drop force | Forward stick weight when parked or slow. | stick drop, drop force, parked stick drop, yoke drop, forward pull, stick forward pull |
| Stick drop fade (kt) | The airspeed by which stick-drop fades out. | stick drop fade speed, fade airspeed, fade speed, stick drop fade, drop fade airspeed / speed |
| Propwash pitch | Power-on pitch bias from propeller wash. | prop wash pitch, propwash, prop wash, power pitch, power on pitch, propwash / prop wash force |
| Ground & rollout | ||
| Runway rumble | Wheel rumble rolling on the ground. | taxi / ground / wheel rumble, runway / taxi / ground vibration, runway / taxi bumps, runway / taxi effect, taxi / ground / runway chatter, pavement |
| Brake shudder | Vibration under braking. | brake vibration, braking shudder, braking vibration |
| Gear bumps | Bumps felt through the gear on rollout. | gear bump, landing gear bumps, gear road bumps |
| Nosewheel shimmy | Nosewheel shimmy vibration. | nose wheel shimmy, nosewheel / nose wheel vibration, shimmy |
| Ground accel | Pitch surge under takeoff-roll acceleration and braking. | ground / taxi acceleration, takeoff roll surge, takeoff surge, ground / accel / acceleration pitch, rollout acceleration |
| Reverse rumble | Rumble in reverse thrust / beta range. | reverse thrust rumble, reverse / reverser vibration, reverser rumble, beta / beta range rumble |
| Touchdown thump | The thump at touchdown. | touchdown bump, landing thump / bump / jolt / hit, touchdown hit / effect |
| Buffets & warnings | ||
| Stall buffet | Airframe shake approaching the stall. | stall vibration, stall shake, stall warning |
| Stick shaker | Strength of the stall stick-shaker. | shaker amplitude, stick / stall shaker amplitude, stall shaker strength, shaker strength, shaker buzz, shaker |
| Turbulence | The rough-air shake overlay. | air turbulence, rough air, gust shake / vibration, turbulence effect, air bumps |
| Overspeed buffet | The VNE overspeed warning buffet. | overspeed vibration, overspeed buzz, speed warning buffet |
| Mach buffet | High-Mach buffet. | mach vibration, mach buzz, high mach buffet |
| Spoiler buffet | Buffet from deployed spoilers / speedbrakes. | spoiler buff, spoiler vibration, speedbrake / speed brake buffet, speedbrake / speed brake buff |
| Flap buffet | Buffet with the flaps out. | flap vibration, flap shake, flaps buffet / vibration |
| Gear buffet | Buffet with the gear down. | gear vibration, landing gear buffet, gear drag buffet |
| Engine | ||
| Engine rumble | Continuous engine vibration. | engine vibration, motor rumble / vibration, engine shake, engine buzz, engine effect |
| Mechanical one-shots | ||
| Gear deploy | Shudder as the gear extends or retracts. | gear deployment / extension / retract / retraction / movement / cycle, landing gear deploy / movement |
| Flap step | A bump at each flap detent. | flap step bump / shudder, flap detent, flap detent bump, flap movement / notch, flap notch bump, flaps step |
| Aero drag (pitch trim changes) | ||
| Flap drag | Sustained pitch force from flap drag. | flaps drag, flap pitch force, flap pitch, flap load, flap pressure, flap sustained force |
| Spoiler drag | Pitch force from spoilers / speedbrakes. | spoilers drag, speedbrake / speed brake drag, spoiler pitch force, speedbrake pitch, spoiler load |
| Gear drag | Pitch force from gear drag. | landing gear drag, gear pitch force, gear pitch, gear down force / drag, gear load |
| Autopilot (off by default) | ||
| Autopilot follow authority | How far the autopilot nudges the centre. | ap follow authority, autopilot / ap authority, autopilot / ap movement, autopilot follow movement |
| Autopilot follow strength | Firmness of the autopilot follow cue. | ap follow strength, autopilot / ap strength, autopilot / ap spring, autopilot follow spring |
| Watchdog (advanced timing) | ||
| Watchdog stale threshold (s) | How long stale telemetry waits before forces fade. | stale threshold, watchdog stale time, stale time / seconds, watchdog / telemetry timeout |
| Watchdog fade window (ms) | How quickly forces fade once telemetry goes stale. | fade window, watchdog fade, fade milliseconds, stale fade / window, fade time |
Verbs and amounts
Pair any control above with one of these actions. Without an amount, a change is a medium step.
| Action | Say it like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Turn down | reduce, lower, less, weaker, lighter, soften, softer, calmer, calm down, turn down, decrease, back off, ease off, tone down, dial down, pull back, take the edge off | Bridge ease off the turbulence |
| Turn up | increase, raise, more, stronger, heavier, stiffer, turn up, bring up, bump up, nudge up, boost, add, easier to notice | Tune bump up the stall buffet |
| Set to a value | set, make, put, change, bring, dial — then a number | FFB set engine rumble to 15 percent |
| Enable | turn on, back on, enable, restore, bring back, unmute | Bridge turn runway rumble back on |
| Disable | turn off, shut off, disable, mute, kill, zero, zero out | Bridge disable nosewheel shimmy |
Set the size of a relative change with an amount word, or be exact with a number:
| Amount | Say it like |
|---|---|
| A touch | tiny, barely, a touch |
| A little | slightly, a little, a bit, small |
| A medium step (default) | say nothing — the default |
| A lot | much, a lot, significantly, large |
| An exact amount | by 20 percent, by 5 points, by half, by a quarter, to 250 knots, to 40 percent |
One-phrase fixes
Describe the problem in plain language and Voice Tune adjusts the related group at once. These ask to confirm first.
| Say it like | What it does |
|---|---|
| too harsh · calm it down · make it less harsh | Softens centring, airspeed load, the ceiling, and the major vibration cues. |
| too much vibration · reduce vibration · less vibration · calm vibration | Turns down ground, buffet, turbulence, and engine vibration. |
| trim feels wrong · fix trim · trim is wrong | Restores trim relief and trim authority toward expected behaviour. |
| too weak · not strong enough | Raises the main stick forces and felt effect gains. |
| taxi rumble too strong · taxi rumble is too strong | Calms ground-roll rumble, brake shudder, bumps, shimmy, and taxi acceleration. |
Whole-feel presets
| Say it like | Result |
|---|---|
| soft preset · apply soft · make it soft | A gentle, light overall feel. |
| strong preset · apply strong | A firm, heavy overall feel. |
| balanced preset · apply balanced | A neutral middle-ground feel. |
| more realistic · make it realistic · fix this · fix the feel | Applies the balanced preset (asks to confirm). |
Profiles and A/B
Spoken changes land in the B draft so you can audition before committing. Saving, keeping, discarding, and auditioning ask to confirm.
| Say it like | What it does |
|---|---|
| switch to b · listen to b · use b | Feel the B draft. |
| switch to a · listen to a · use a | Feel the saved A baseline. |
| keep b · keep draft · accept b | Promote the B draft to A. Confirms. |
| discard b · discard draft · throw away b | Drop the B draft. Confirms. |
| save profile · save this profile · save my changes | Save the current feel. Confirms. |
| save this as <name> · save as <name> | Save under a new name. Confirms. |
| try / load / audition <profile> | Audition a profile from the library as a draft. Confirms. |
| revert changes · discard changes · reset to profile | Throw away unsaved edits. |
| undo · undo that · undo last · undo voice | Step back the last voice change (up to 10). |
| yes · confirm · do it · go ahead / cancel · never mind · forget it | Answer a pending confirmation. |
Ask about the feel
| Say it like | Answer |
|---|---|
| what makes it shake · why is it rough · what forces am i feeling · what is causing this | Names the dominant active force and offers to reduce it. |
| what changed · what did you change | Lists the recent voice changes. |
| status | Reports the current state. |
| what profile is loaded · which profile is active | Names the active profile. |
| help · what can i say · voice help | Shows what you can say. |
Safety — these bypass the wake phrase
| Say it like | What it does |
|---|---|
| panic · stop forces · stop all forces · forces off · force feedback off · stop everything · disarm | Immediately stops all force output — no wake word, no confirmation. |
| arm force feedback · arm forces · turn on force feedback · forces on | Arms the stick. Asks to confirm. |
What voice won't do
These are deliberately UI-only — Voice Tune refuses them so it stays focused on reversible tuning and explicit safety stops.
| If you ask to… | Voice Tune says |
|---|---|
| delete or rename a profile | Not available as an in-flight voice action. |
| change hardware mode | Hardware setup must be changed in the UI. |
| change a voice binding (push-to-talk) | Bindings must be changed in the UI. |
| download a model | Model downloads must be started from the UI. |
| activate / deactivate a licence | Licensing must be handled in the UI. |
| export diagnostics / send a support bundle | Diagnostics must be exported from the UI. |
| change the storage path | Storage paths must be changed outside in-flight voice. |
| disable safety, send raw force, or max everything | Blocked by safety limits. |
Speech-back
Speech-back is optional and off by default. When enabled, Voice Tune speaks concise replies using your operating system's speech voice. You can toggle spoken replies, test the output, and set volume and rate. With speech-back off, Voice Tune still shows the reply text in the app.
Failed phrases, and reporting
Voice Tune logs recent unsuccessful phrase text — timestamp, source (typed or microphone), heard text, understood text, the message, an error code, and recognition status — to help improve the command parser. It never stores audio, and you can copy, clear, or report entries at any time.
- Use Report this when the Voice Tune feature itself misbehaves.
- Use Report phrase when the app heard you but interpreted it poorly, rejected it unexpectedly, or applied the wrong change.
A useful phrase report says what you said, what the app heard, what you wanted, whether it was typed or spoken, and the aircraft/sim context if relevant. Voice Tune reports are text-only for speech content — no recordings are uploaded.
Troubleshooting
Says the model is missing
- Open Voice Tune and select Download model.
- Wait for the download and hash verification to finish.
- Retry once the status shows the model is ready.
Doesn't hear anything
- Confirm Voice Tune is enabled and a microphone is selected.
- Watch the mic-level meter; refresh capture devices if needed.
- Check Windows microphone privacy permissions.
- Try a typed command to separate parsing from microphone capture.
Ignores my command
- Start microphone commands with Bridge, Tune, or FFB.
- Hold push-to-talk until the phrase is complete.
- Try a shorter phrase, or test the wording in the typed box.
- Use Report phrase for useful failures.
Speech-back is silent
- Confirm speech-back is enabled and use the test button.
- Check volume and rate, and confirm Windows has a usable speech voice installed.
- Remember Voice Tune still works with spoken replies off.