Cockpit windshield view is a joke

[flying_saucer]

Howdy Folks. I am a newbie to FSX.

I just bought FSX and trying it out.

I am trying out the Cessnas (both the 172 and the 208) and the Lear Jet.

I can't see the airport or ground through the windshield. [My computer and the graphic cards are functioning 100% fine.]

What I am trying to say is -- the cockpit views that FSX gives me through F9 and F10 are like been viewed by a 3-yr old sitting in the driver seat of a car.

I cannot see the runway when I am trying to land. I don't want to pitch the nose down to see; that would be wrong.

So, how you guys have been solving this problem?

What can I do to simulate my chin is above the instrument panel so that I can see the airport and the runway?

Thanks,
A

[kingnorris]

Shift + enter raises the seat.

[BMG50]

For the view in the 2d cockpit,open the panel folder,find and open the panel.cfg file and look for a "views"entry..If you don,t have one,add one like this:[VIEWS]
VIEW_FORWARD_DIR=4.5, 0.0, 0.0

Play with the first number...up or down,even with a "-" if necessary.....For a view in the VC,open the aircraft.cfg file and find this entry:[Views]
eyepoint=31.5, -1.5, -4.8

Again,play with the first number to raise/lower your eyepoint..

You can raise/lower your eyepoint with the keyboard keys but you will have to do that everytime you use that aircraft..This is a permanent fix for that a/c..

Sorry,kingnorris...Your post had not posted when I started typeing..

[Daveo]

Howdy Folks. I am a newbie to FSX.

I just bought FSX and trying it out.

I am trying out the Cessnas (both the 172 and the 208) and the Lear Jet.

I can't see the airport or ground through the windshield. [My computer and the graphic cards are functioning 100% fine.]

What I am trying to say is -- the cockpit views that FSX gives me through F9 and F10 are like been viewed by a 3-yr old sitting in the driver seat of a car.

I cannot see the runway when I am trying to land. I don't want to pitch the nose down to see; that would be wrong.

So, how you guys have been solving this problem?

What can I do to simulate my chin is above the instrument panel so that I can see the airport and the runway?

Thanks,
A

You can zoom the view out a little using the spacebar and mouswheel together and then use Shift-Q
and CTRL-Shift-Q to change the view angle.

[tvieno]

I always fly with the zoom pulled out to the limit which is 0.30. + and - keys

[RickG]

When in the plane with the 2D panel showing, cycle through the W key. You get 3 to 4 diff views, and one of them is perfect, or so I find. In lots of the other fsx planes you can "raise the seat" with CTRL-Q, again in the 2D panel view.

[mepdraft]

I also find that the panel takes up two much room in 2D . That is why I always use Virtual Cocpit. In my opinion, that is the way to go since you see out the windows like a pilot should. When I want to look at my instruments, I use my hat switch to pan down. I have also set up a button on my joistick to return to "return eyepoint to front". This way I can look around and when I need to go back to my front view, it's just a click away rather than pan all the way back.

Michel E Paquette

[flying_saucer]

Thank You, thank you, thank you, all.

All your replies are great answers.

A lot of other forums are not very friendly towards rookies. I really appreciate all your inputs. You guys are really kind, and great.

By the way, what's 2D, 3D, and virtual cockpit? I am still learning. I just recently installed FSX and I have no customization of any sort. There is not much literature in the box either. I am just so glad that I managed to land in Sitka flawlessly, and getting better at Telluride. Lear 45 is a bit of a wild horse for a Cessna pilot.

I am loving it so far.

I am all ears if you guys could recommend a good knowledge base for reading for my daily and basic FSX ventures.

Thanks,
A

[jomni]

[F10 button] 2D is a flat cockpit. Views are fixed.
[F9 button] 3D and Virtual Cockpit are the same. It's a 3D cockpit with no fixed views. You pan your view manually (SPACE+ Mouse movement). This shows a more realistic point of view but you will not see all important instruments and buttons in one view.

[llivaudais]

Personally, I browsed back for several months worth of forum posts taking notes when I was trying to get a handle on FS9 initially.

Oh, about the lack of reading 'in the box'... It's nearly ALL html files in "The Learning Center" and that should be your main source of information for the next several weeks or months... that little "FSX Insider" pamphlet mentions the learning center on page 3 also.

The 2D cockpit is a forward view with a FIXED panel display across the screen; moving the view does NOT move the panel. 3D or VC (Virtual Cockpit) allows you to move and pan the view around inside the cockpit. Most view features are adjustable so this 'generic' description is rather simplified.

Loyd