VMU

The VMU (Voice Messaging Unit) provides cockpit announcements on the E-10, E-11, P-13, A-4, W-6 and T-19. It requires cockpit power and completes its normal warm-up before speaking. Its announcements use the aircraft's installed cockpit voice.

Engine failure

“Engine one failure,” “Engine two failure,” or “Engine three failure” identifies an installed engine that has persistently failed to deliver its commanded output. The third-engine announcement applies to the E-10 and E-11; two-engine aircraft announce only engines one and two.

The discrepancy must persist for about one second. A continuing failure is announced once; confirmed recovery permits another announcement if the failure returns. Reducing the command to idle or deliberately shutting down for coast does not itself produce a failure call. A recovered failure waiting behind other speech is discarded.

This monitoring remains available on the ground, in hover, during atmospheric flight, ascent, suborbital or orbital flight, and re-entry, whether hand flown or under Autoflyte. It compares commanded and delivered output; it does not identify individual damaged parts.

Flap position confirmations

On the W-6 Manx and T-19, selecting a new flap detent produces a confirmation when the flaps reach it:

Flap position	Announcement
0°	“Flaps up.”
8°	“Flaps eight.”
20°	“Flaps twenty.”
30°	“Flaps thirty.”
40°	“Flaps forty.”

Default controls are Shift+F8 to extend one detent and Shift+F9 to retract one detent. Custom key bindings may differ. Confirmation applies in both directions and waits for actual position, so a lever movement or jammed flap does not by itself confirm the requested setting. Passing an intermediate detent on the way to a different selection does not announce that intermediate position.

Entering a cockpit or restoring valid flap information establishes the current position quietly. If another setting is selected while a confirmation is waiting to play, the old confirmation is discarded. These position confirmations remain available in flight and on the ground, including spaceflight; they are not an aerodynamic clearance to extend flaps.

Radio-height callouts

GPWS altitude advisories include “Three hundred” when descending through 300 feet (91.44 m) of radio height. This is height above the terrain beneath the aircraft, not MSL or pressure altitude. The existing “Minimums, minimums” priority at the default 200-foot decision height is retained, followed by the existing 100-foot call when applicable. Higher-priority alerts and valid sensor requirements still apply.

Speech and self-test

Announcements share the cockpit speech queue. An ordinary phrase already playing finishes before another starts. Escape warnings take priority over waiting engine announcements; flap confirmations have lower priority. Power loss or a vehicle change clears stale pending engine and flap speech. Entering or leaving the in-world simulator also resets these pending calls; cockpit engine and flap monitoring remains available for training.

The default Shift+Scroll Lock binding starts or stops the aural warning test. It plays the recordings installed for that aircraft. Ctrl+Shift+Scroll Lock requests the separate TCAS test. GPWS has its own functional test and hazard controls.