A P-51D Cockpit that Looks and Feels... Right.

[Bowie]

Yeah... Really likin'it.

 

 

Bowie

[Bowie]

Had an interesting turn of events on this project.

Was thinking that a "look down" button would be useful, as there are the fuel switch/gauges, as well as the side panels to deal with.

So switched settings/assignments for the two upper snap view buttons.

... and, with the other corrections, the views were the same, as 30º view angle change w/ the "40" zoom is native.

 

Zeroed the "vAngle", and tasked, instead of "Camera view up slow", "View Center" to the upper right(JOY_BTN6) button. (gunsight view)

And tasked, instead of "View Center" w/ the - 30º depression angle, "Camera view down slow", to the upper left(JOY_BTN5) button. (panel view)

 

So, now, the upper right button is all/only "gunsight view", without the annoying double-clutch higher views from the "Camera view up slow" function.

And, the upper left button is "panel view", and "lower panel view" with the second push, and pan from there.

Also, once the lower panel view is altered, even by just bumping the pan hat, the upper left button will bring back the "panel view", moving the view back up.

This also effects panning in the "panel view" itself, as the upper left button will reset to initial "panel view" as well.

 

This is very fast for in-cockpit work, like start-up and monitoring flight parameters and fuel.

Really Good - got better.

 

Bowie

Edited December 11, 2024 by Bowie

[Bowie]

UPDATE:

Refined this, to precisely match the Options/System/External Field of View = 55°.

Found that the [1] 'snap view' (keypad "0") could be re-tasked to an Instrument Panel "Look in/back" from a off-axis panned view.

Really handy both fighting and landing, for a quick check of the gauges.

Noticed this view was a little off of the 55° Ext. FoV setting, though always very different from the [13] 'default view', and figured that since they were on different scales, the 'snap view' was probable the same as the External.

So, set the [1] 'snap view' to 55°, and then readjusted the [13] 'default view' by selecting the 'Panel View' w/ the control stick button, and then (keypad "0") snapping back and forth to it, looking for anomalies.

Wiggled it into a perfect match, which is a little wider than the original "40", which is good for FoV, but not enough to create an unwanted effect.

Win/Win.

SnapViews["P-51D"] = {
[1] = {-- player slot 1
    [1] = {--LWin + Num0 : Snap View 0
        viewAngle        = 55.000000,--FOV Cockpit Zoom 55.000000, OEM 80.000000 "P-51D"
        viewAngleVertical= 0.000000,--VFOV
        hAngle            = 0.000000,--    (Snap View)/(Cockpit panel view in)(-30°)
        vAngle            = -30.00000,-- Cockpit View Angle -30.00000,  OEM -9.500000
        x_trans            = 0.160000,-- Cockpit View In_Trans 0.160000. 0.150000, OEM 0.120000
        y_trans            = 0.060000,-- Cockpit View Up_Trans 0.060000, OEM 0.059000
        z_trans            = 0.000000,-- Cockpit View Rt_Trans 0.000000, OEM 0.000000
        rollAngle        = 0.000000,
        cockpit_version    = 0,

[13] = {--default view
        viewAngle        = 40.200000,--FOV Cockpit Zoom 40.200000, OEM 80.000000 "P-51D"
        viewAngleVertical= 0.000000,--VFOV
        hAngle            = 0.000000,--    (View Center)/(Cam View Dn-Slow)(-30°)
        vAngle            = 0.000000,-- Cockpit View Angle 0.00000,     OEM -9.500000
        x_trans            = 0.160000,-- Cockpit View In_Trans 0.160000, 0.150000, OEM 0.120000
        y_trans            = 0.060000,-- Cockpit View Up_Trans 0.060000, OEM 0.059000
        z_trans            = 0.000000,-- Cockpit View Rt_Trans 0.000000, OEM 0.000000
        rollAngle        = 0.000000,
        cockpit_version    = 0,

Enjoy.

 

Bowie

[Weta43]

On 8/6/2024 at 7:40 AM, Doughguy said:

You can calculate the correct FOV according to your monitor and distance from monitor to your eye.
Theres some stuff on the web that does that for you if that helps.

For red AC I have an ACHS -1 clock I found in Vietnam (keeps pretty good time).

I put it by the monitor & make the clock on screen the same size as the real one. That zoom's pretty convincing...

[Bowie]

On 9/15/2025 at 12:51 AM, Weta43 said:

For red AC I have an ACHS -1 clock I found in Vietnam (keeps pretty good time).

I put it by the monitor & make the clock on screen the same size as the real one. That zoom's pretty convincing...

 

The point of the exercise is to provide a realistic field of view and magnification, regardless of scale.

Wristwatch to jumbotron.

What a pilot would see, both in the cockpit and out in the distance.

So that super-human zoom vision, and labels, become cheats.

 

Bowie

[Weta43]

On 9/18/2025 at 10:03 AM, Bowie said:

 

The point of the exercise is to provide a realistic field of view and magnification, regardless of scale.

Wristwatch to jumbotron.

What a pilot would see, both in the cockpit and out in the distance.

So that super-human zoom vision, and labels, become cheats.

 

Bowie

 

...But for a given size monitor scale is simply a function of FoV and magnification & is the principal determinant of whether something reaches the minimum resolution angle of the eye / covers a pixel.

If something doesn't do both those things, then you won't see it without a spotting aid. If you can't see it without a spotting aide when in real life you would be able too, then a spotting aid is functionally more realistic than not having a spotting aid - even if it looks more gamey &/or feels like a cheat

I play on a vertical orientation 32" screen at 2160x3840 - it provides both a realistic (vertical) field of view and a realistic scale for observed objects (both of which make it quite immersive). but it sacrifices horizontal FOV to achieve that & still doesn't have the spotting resolution your eyes do.

Both those first things make the sim more immersive (look ahead of yourself now - we are more aware of the vertical slice of the world in front of us than the equivalent in horizontal degrees (presumably so we are aware of what we might trip over or bang our head on.)

Regarding the second though - The desire to have realistic FOV + realistic scale of objects in view + realistic acuity (spotting ability) without additional zoom or spotting aids is -  in my opinion - a fantasy until we have screens that have a similar pixel per degree to the human eye and present a similar total degrees of vision spanned. (So ~95 pixel per degree¹ for 210° x 150°- or a 19,950-pixels x 14,250 pixels screen that's big enough to be set at a distance where the pixels subtend 1/95th of a degree while still being at a distance at which it is able to be focused on. 

That might be quite small physically for something like a VR headset, but for a 2D panel it's going to be a big-ars3d screen.

(of course, with eye tracking, the whole image doesn't need to be at that level of detail - most of it wouldn't even need to be rendered in colour, but it all needs to be able to display that resolution everywhere.)

Below that resolution & FoV coverage, everything is compromise & what the 'best' compromise is - is monitor + viewer dependent, & in the end just personal preference.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

1 Resolution limit of the eye: how many pixels can we see?

[Czar]

On 9/17/2025 at 7:03 PM, Bowie said:

The point of the exercise is to provide a realistic field of view and magnification, regardless of scale.

Wristwatch to jumbotron.

What a pilot would see, both in the cockpit and out in the distance.

Narrow field of view will handicap you in combat. DCS have dot/pixel based spotting so it counters zooming out.
Without triple screens, a narrow FOV of 55º will disable your capacity of peripheral vision.

Everything like scaling objects for realistic field of view magnification goes out of the window when your main vision interface is a 2D screen.

Anyone with a 100º+ FOV will most likely have an absurd advantage to you in a dogfight.

Object size shouldn't matter. What should matter is readability + peripheral vision (a fair compromise of both based on your setup).

On 9/17/2025 at 7:03 PM, Bowie said:

So that super-human zoom vision, and labels, become cheats.

It is not cheating. Real life vision/being there for real is infinitely more effective than flying on screen. Compromises should be taking to match proper combat efficiency.

Cool exercise:

1. Point a finger upwards at 30~cm from a point between your eyes at your eyes height.
2. Slowly drift your finger laterally while looking forward and maintaining distance to the point between your eyes until you reach a point that you cannot see your finger anymore.
3. Realize that point is way beyond 27.5º from the center of your vision which would be the angle you'd loose sight of the object ingame at 55º FOV.

Tweak for efficiency + readability, not object size.

I use a 106º FOV on most of my modules, mainly jets but also on the Mustang.
27" screen at 27"/70cm~ distance from my eyes.

I've found high FOV to be much more immersive and easy to do a lot of stuff including AAR.
Also helped a friend having better AAR with the inclusion of a higher FOV on his setup.

 

 

 

 

Edited 19 hours ago by Czar

[Bowie]

8 hours ago, Czar said:

Narrow field of view will handicap you in combat. DCS have dot/pixel based spotting so it counters zooming out.
Without triple screens, a narrow FOV of 55º will disable your capacity of peripheral vision.

Everything like scaling objects for realistic field of view magnification goes out of the window when your main vision interface is a 2D screen.

Anyone with a 100º+ FOV will most likely have an absurd advantage to you in a dogfight.

Object size shouldn't matter. What should matter is readability + peripheral vision (a fair compromise of both based on your setup).

It is not cheating. Real life vision/being there for real is infinitely more effective than flying on screen. Compromises should be taking to match proper combat efficiency.

Cool exercise:

1. Point a finger upwards at 30~cm from a point between your eyes at your eyes height.
2. Slowly drift your finger laterally while looking forward and maintaining distance to the point between your eyes until you reach a point that you cannot see your finger anymore.
3. Realize that point is way beyond 27.5º from the center of your vision which would be the angle you'd loose sight of the object ingame at 55º FOV.

Tweak for efficiency + readability, not object size.

I use a 106º FOV on most of my modules, mainly jets but also on the Mustang.
27" screen at 27"/70cm~ distance from my eyes.

I've found high FOV to be much more immersive and easy to do a lot of stuff including AAR.
Also helped a friend having better AAR with the inclusion of a higher FOV on his setup.

 

 

 

 

Vision runs out long before the edge of your screen.

Requiring a change in focal point.

This is the same condition for both setups.

Except that on your setup, you can do it in a single view, where as on mine one must soon 'point their nose' in the direction desired to produce the new field.

But what does one get?

Stare at the gunsight of the pic above, and try to read the gauges.

Stare at the wingtip of the other plane and try to determine which gunsight is presented.

Have to look back, on both setups.

But what else do you get with that setup?

A bowed, distorted view of the cockpit from the back seat.

And objects at distance far out of scale.

Then, consider the OP.

Views that are proportional to the front seat cockpit view, optically flat, and easy to read gauges.

Outside views are also proportional and flat, to the same 55° FOV as the external view itself.

The only catch, is that it requires one to pan to a new view sooner.

With a little practice, situational awareness and theater-of-the-mind builds the holodeck, like driving your car, and the scan pattern just updates the global image.

A little more work from the 'arcade' setup, but a huge payoff in realism and immersion.

Won't know until you try it, long enough to get the hang of it.

No supernatural zooming or labels, no warped, backseat views.

 

 

Bowie

 

 

 

 

[Czar]

Do whatever floats your boat.

57 minutes ago, Bowie said:

Won't know until you try it, long enough to get the hang of it.

I fly this sim since Lomac 2007.
I've been all around flying with narrow FOV until I changed to wide.
I can't stand narrow FOV anymore.

And yes, I can still read the gauges without zooming.
Zooming in, out and reset to normal are right on my fingertips through HOTAS buttons if needed.

57 minutes ago, Bowie said:

But what else do you get with that setup?

Peripheral vision and not the effect on looking through a straw or with a horse blinder.

Easy to see missile smoke, references for AAR while still looking forward, bandits sneaking up, better awareness at a messy merge, better handling in a scissor.

57 minutes ago, Bowie said:

A bowed, distorted view of the cockpit from the back seat.

This effect is completely bypassed by your brain in combat. You don't see it at all.
And even if noticeable, completely fair of a sacrifice.

Again, need to be close to the screen.

57 minutes ago, Bowie said:

And objects at distance far out of scale.

If that's the case, you're far from the screen, hence everything feels more 'in scale' with narrow FOV.

Cheers.
All it matters is the fun. Disregard whatever doesn't vibe with you.
Happy Flying.

Edited 10 hours ago by Czar

[Bowie]

2 hours ago, Czar said:

Do whatever floats your boat.

I fly this sim since Lomac 2007.
I've been all around flying with narrow FOV until I changed to wide.
I can't stand narrow FOV anymore.

And yes, I can still read the gauges without zooming.
Zooming in, out and reset to normal are right on my fingertips through HOTAS buttons if needed.

Peripheral vision and not the effect on looking through a straw or with a horse blinder.

Easy to see missile smoke, references for AAR while still looking forward, bandits sneaking up, better awareness at a messy merge, better handling in a scissor.

This effect is completely bypassed by your brain in combat. You don't see it at all.
And even if noticeable, completely fair of a sacrifice.

Again, need to be close to the screen.

If that's the case, you're far from the screen, hence everything feels more 'in scale' with narrow FOV.

Cheers.
All it matters is the fun. Disregard whatever doesn't vibe with you.
Happy Flying.

You like what you like.

Me?

CFS2.

Took me quite a while to get DCS so that it didn't just absolutely suck.

Now it's awesome.

Driving your car, looking down the road, you can't see the dash, nor your side windows or mirrors.

Look at any of those, and you cant see down the road.

Same thing with this, except that one snaps/pans to point their nose, instead of turning their head.

The eyes still wander around a ~55° FOV.

 

 

Puts me IN the cockpit.

And the Mil ring on the gunsite works.

Fill half the ring with wingspan or fuselage, pull lead, and squeeze... and it's 4th of July on the other end.

No superhuman zoom, no labels, no cheats.

Just pilot stuff.

 

Bowie