I also find it too bright in regards that I have the in game gamma set to 2.0 which makes the world seem washed out, but if I go to a darker gamma, the cockpits get darker and darker, especially in the area covered with shadows.
I also have global cockpit illumination turned on, my monitor is set up to 60% brightness and contrast of 50%. The Nvidia settings are as per default. It all worked just fine prior to few updates ago.