VatsimCopilot-Dist

VATSIM Copilot

VATSIM Copilot is a real-time ATC assistant for VATSIM pilots. It listens to ATC audio, transcribes it locally using Whisper, and extracts structured instructions — altitude, heading, squawk, routing, and more — so you never miss a clearance.

All audio transcription runs entirely on your machine. No audio is ever uploaded.

What It Does

When ATC says:

“DAL123 descend and maintain 5,000, turn left heading 240, reduce speed to 210.”

Copilot shows:

Field	Value
Altitude	5,000 ft
Heading	240°
Speed	210 kts

And generates a suggested readback.

How It Works

ATC Audio → Whisper (local) → Callsign Filter → Rules Parser → Instruction Card
                                                      ↓
                                             Optional AI assist
                                          (Claude / GPT-4o / Gemini)

Callsign filtering happens locally before any AI call — unrelated traffic never reaches the AI backend.

Parsing Modes

Mode	Description
Offline (Rules)	Fully local, no API key needed. 100% accuracy on standard phraseology.
AI Assisted	Rules parser first; AI handles edge cases and unusual phrasing.
AI Only	All parsing delegated to the AI backend.
Raw Debug	Shows raw Whisper transcript with no filtering.

Performance

Validated on 50 FAA + ICAO cases (v0.1.0, rules-only):

Metric	CPU	GPU (RTX 3080)
Avg processing latency	~1,518 ms	~770 ms
Cases under 1.5 s	48%	100%
Rules accuracy	100%	100%

GPU Acceleration

The Standard build supports on-demand GPU acceleration. When you disable Force CPU in Settings for the first time, the CUDA runtime (~528 MB) downloads automatically. No separate installer required.

Audio Setup

Recommended — VB-Audio Virtual Cable

vPilot audio output  →  CABLE Input
CABLE Output         →  Copilot (input device)

Advanced — VoiceMeeter

vPilot → VoiceMeeter AUX Input → B1 bus → Copilot

Select Voicemeeter Out B1 as the input device in Copilot. Do not select A1/A2/A3 (headset outputs).

Integrations

Integration	What It Adds
SimBrief	Route-aware parsing — crossing restrictions, SID/STAR fixes resolved automatically
VATSIM	Live flight plan sync, altitude and squawk cross-check
Navigraph DFD	Fix/waypoint recognition for improved parser accuracy

Privacy

Audio is transcribed locally by Whisper — never uploaded
If an AI backend is enabled, ATC transcriptions are sent to that provider
An anonymous usage heartbeat is sent on startup (opt out: DO_NOT_TRACK=1)
Full privacy policy: savbuilds.github.io/VatsimCopilot-Dist/PRIVACY

Quickstart

Extract the distribution folder
Launch VATSIM_Copilot.exe
Set your audio input device in Settings → Audio
Enter your callsign in the Live Session panel
Click Start Listening

See VATSIM_Copilot_Manual.pdf for full setup and configuration instructions.

License

Beta release — see repository for license details.