How do I configure Aerosoft Airbus callouts in FSX?

In Aerosoft Airbus for FSX and FSX: Steam Edition, use the right-hand MCDU’s aircraft-options pages to enable sound, checklists and the co-pilot. Enter V-speeds and approach minima on the relevant PERF pages. Airbus altitude callouts are generated automatically by radio-altimeter/GPWS logic and cannot normally be selected one by one.

Which Aerosoft Airbus callouts can I configure?

Aerosoft separates automatic aircraft callouts from optional crew, checklist and cabin audio. The mistake we see most often is treating every spoken line as though it were controlled by the same switch.

Airbus X and Airbus X Extended do not use identical menu labels. Instructions for the Professional generation may also describe a different simulator, so use our comparison of how Aerosoft Airbus generations differ before applying menu paths from another release.

How do I enable Aerosoft Airbus crew and altitude callouts?

Enable optional crew audio on the right MCDU, supply the required performance data, and leave the built-in altitude-callout logic to operate automatically.

1. Load the Aerosoft aircraft completely. Wait for its panels and gauges to initialise. Open the right-hand MCDU, sometimes identified as MCDU 2, through the virtual cockpit or the package’s panel pop-up.
2. Confirm that FSX sound is active. Check the simulator’s sound toggle and volume controls before changing the aircraft. The default Q command toggles all FSX sound, although a customised control assignment may differ.
3. Open the aircraft sound options. On the right MCDU, find the options and sound pages. Enable or raise the cockpit, flight-crew and cabin categories you want; their names and presentation vary by Aerosoft generation.
4. Enable the checklist and co-pilot. The checklist option supplies the sequence, while the co-pilot or pilot-monitoring option provides spoken responses and may complete eligible actions. Enabling the checklist alone does not guarantee a two-person spoken exchange.
5. Enter the take-off speeds. Complete the PERF TO page with valid V1, VR and V2 values where required by the package. Missing V-speeds are a common cause of absent V1 and rotate calls.
6. Enter the correct approach minimum. Use the PERF APPR field provided for a barometric minimum or radio decision height. A barometric DA or MDA is an altitude derived from the approach chart; a radio DH is a height above the surface. Do not place a barometric value in the radio-height field merely to force a callout.
7. Test in a normal descent. Start above the first expected trigger, remain in the virtual cockpit and descend normally to landing. Slew mode, repositioning, extreme simulation rates or loading a flight below a trigger height can prevent the gauge from detecting that the aircraft crossed it.

Checklist calls are state-dependent. If a sequence stops, inspect the preceding checklist item, doors, engines, lights and flight phase rather than repeatedly toggling the sound page.

Which Airbus altitude callouts should I hear?

The built-in sequence normally announces radio height above the terrain, not the altitude shown on the barometric altimeter.

A typical Airbus-style set represented by add-ons may include 2500, 1000, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 and 5 feet. The precise set depends on the aircraft generation, simulated equipment and included sound logic, so the absence of one value does not automatically indicate a fault.

The 500-foot call, for example, occurs at approximately 500 feet of radio height even at a high-elevation airport. Terrain beneath the aircraft can also make radio-height calls occur earlier or later than expected from runway elevation alone.

100 above and minimum are calculated from the approach minimum you entered; they are not fixed members of the radio-height sequence. RETARD is a separate Airbus thrust-lever prompt generated during the flare, not a user-selected altitude announcement.

Why are Aerosoft Airbus callouts missing?

The pattern of missing sound usually identifies whether the fault lies with FSX audio, an Aerosoft option, missing performance data or gauge logic.

• Every FSX sound is silent: restore the simulator sound toggle, raise its volume controls, check the Windows volume mixer and verify the selected output device.
• Engines work but all Aerosoft voices are absent: inspect the right-MCDU sound categories and reload the aircraft so its sound module can initialise. If the panel also behaves incorrectly, repair the Aerosoft installation rather than copying gauges from another aircraft.
• Checklist prompts appear without spoken responses: enable the co-pilot as well as the checklist, then satisfy the outstanding aircraft-state conditions.
• Only altitude calls are absent: test a continuous descent with normal electrical power. Avoid Slew mode, position jumps and loading directly below the expected trigger height.
• Minimum is absent but fixed altitude calls work: recheck the PERF APPR page. The minimum may be blank, invalid or entered as the wrong barometric or radio reference.
• V1 or rotate is missing: enter valid take-off speeds and ensure the crew or co-pilot function responsible for those calls is enabled.
• Calls repeat or overlap: a second GPWS gauge, crew utility or sound package is probably announcing the same event. Disable the duplicate source rather than running both at reduced volume.

Do wired headphones need a special FSX callout setting?

Wired headphones require no Aerosoft-specific setting, but FSX and some aircraft sound modules can retain the Windows output device selected when they started.

• Connect them before launching FSX. If you plug them in or change outputs after loading the aircraft, close and restart FSX so both the simulator and gauge-based audio use the new device.
• Set the correct Windows output. Analogue 3.5 mm headphones normally use the computer’s existing sound device, while USB wired headphones usually appear as a separate output.
• Check the volume mixer. Confirm that fsx.exe is not muted and is routed to the intended device where Windows provides per-application routing.
• Use other sounds as a diagnostic. If engines, switches and environmental audio all remain on the speakers, the problem is output routing. If they play through the headphones but Aerosoft callouts do not, investigate the aircraft settings, performance entries and gauges instead.

Can I customise individual Airbus altitude callouts?

No individual on/off selection is normally available for Aerosoft’s built-in radio-altitude calls. Replacing a recording changes the voice clip, but it does not change the height or conditions at which the aircraft’s gauge triggers it.

Manual edits to panel.cfg or the package’s sound files are specific to each Aerosoft release and may be overwritten by a repair or update. Back up the complete original panel and sound folders first. Our guide to diagnosing missing FSX altitude callouts explains how gauges, GPWS logic and sound files interact.

Do not add a generic GPWS gauge to an Aerosoft Airbus as the first fix. The aircraft already has its own system, and another gauge can produce duplicated announcements, conflicting trigger logic or broken panel entries.

When should I use an FDC callout profile?

Use an FDC profile only when you already have a compatible FDC installation and want structured crew calls, checklists and flight-phase sequencing beyond the Aerosoft aircraft’s native audio.

For the corresponding A320/A321 generation, our matching Aerosoft Airbus X FDC profile supplies that sequencing. It is not a standalone GPWS installer and will not repair silent native altitude calls.

If FDC and Aerosoft announce the same checklist item or flight event, disable that overlapping crew category in one system. Retain the aircraft’s native radio-altitude and safety-warning logic rather than trying to replace it with a crew profile.