Say Intentions - AI ATC

I just finished my first successful IFR flight using Say Intentions (SI) for ATC.  Overall I am very impressed with the product, but there were some glitches.  SI is clearly in a rapid development phase, and the IFR facility should be viewed as in beta mode.  In order to get SI to recognize an IFR flight plan, you have to generate it using the Navigraph product Simbrief (SB).  Then, using your SB ID number, SI can load it into its app.  I have been using SB for over a year and I really like it and the Navigraph suite of associated applications, particularly Navigraph Charts, which gives you all of the necessary associated charts (including. approach plates, runway diagrams, SIDs, STARs, etc.) and, using a program called simlink, shows your aircraft position on all of these charts, against the map of you choice (IFR, VFR, Sectional, etc.) and provides current METARs and destination runway recommendations.

Initially, I had problems with SI, because I had unintentonally opened two accounts, using two different emails, and I had paid for one (monthly fee c. $20), while I was in fact flying on the other account - pretty clever huh?.  Once their support straightened that out, I was able to use SI ATC, but only for VFR flight plans.  When I switched to IFR, I couldn't get SI to recognized my SB flightplan.  Finally, I used the link in SI to the SB app, developed the flight plan there and then went to the SI app and requested Clearance to recognizemy SB flightplan.  Bingo, that worked.  I'll believe I've got it when it happens that way a couple more times.

So, most of my flight (KFAT - KBIH) went well.  Contacted clearance, gave them my call sign and requested my clearance.  They found my clearance and passed me to Fresno ground. I switched to Fresno ground and requested push and start, then taxi to the active Then the tower for takeoff clearance, then they passed me to departure and they vectored me onto my first waypoint and then passed me to center who gve me altitude change instructions.  They even vectored me off my IFR flightplan to give me a shortcut through Mammoth Lakes to the Owens Valley, and then they selected my approach into Bishop and (not what I had expected) and gave me vectors to a visual approach to Rwy 26 at Bishop.  Perfect, right?  Not quite, some of those vectors seemed bogus and, in IMC, would have run me into the Inyo Mountains (>11,000').  I so advised ATC, and she modified my heading instruction per my suggestion, without explaning the error.  Finally I told them I had a visual on the airport and would take it from there.  OK, she told me, but don't forget to cancel your clearance, in the air or on the ground.  I even got an SI progress badge for executing a "Vectors to Final" approach on my own.  So, not perfect yet.

They are busy adding loads of more special features, so things are definitely in developmental mode.  Noneheless, its a great experince: no canned scripts, listen to other SI pilots in you area communicating with ATC.  No matter how bad you mangle it, the AI seems to understand.  I have never been a VATSIM user (I need the P button too often), but this is just riright for me.  You can use if free for your first flight.  It's worth a try.

Mike