Taking my first GA flight/lesson in years the other day, one thing I noticed when on final was the runway did not appear as "long" and narrow as it does at MSFS's default zoom of 1.0 On approach, this view pretty much approximated what my eye saw:http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0541695/L/Unless I zoom MSFS to somewhere between 1.25 and 1.50, it seems very difficult to duplicate this perspective and depth of field. I guess my question is, what zoom level do most experienced pilots feel best provides "real" depth of field in MSFS. It seems the default zoom is great for peripheral vision and awareness, but less so for seeing perspective from the point of view it should be seen from during approach. I know some pilots use zoom values of less than one, but that seems to make the "long and narrow" impression all the more pronounced. -John

Hi JohnI know where you are coming from. It seems to me that we are really trying to do the impossible on a small monitor. I fly VC , mostly with a zoom of 75%. The problem with a large zoom ratio is that while it gives a better "directly out the front of the window" picture, you can't see the gauges in the VC and don't have anything like a realistic field of view. I fly VC mostly at 75%. With this zoom ratio , I can see most of the gauges that I need to fly with and I get a reasonably wide field of view. Trouble is that this largely destroys my perceptions of "depth" . I have been experimenting recently with quick zooms to a larger ratio - only on really close final. Barry

I just bought a 32 inch LCD which solved that problem.Although you could get alot of flying lessons for what it cost...

Tks Barry....I guess that's one reason why some still stick with 2-d cockpit views. One huge enhancement for any sim would be some means of giving us the wide angle view we need for scanning the cockpit, while preserving depth of field for outside the cockpit. But I suspect this would require two separate 3-d algorithms--one to track the space inside the aircraft, and another for the space outside the aircraft.-John

THere's really no way to capture the amount of information peripheral vision and the huge FOV the human eye generates. THe closest thing in my mind is this:For "in the cockpit" I use between 50 and 75 percent (all this is in active camera). I use pretty tight zooms in the vc to the T-group, engine controlls, and the radio (one set each) to play with instruments. At 50-75, you can see the insturments well enough to eyeball airspeed, vsi, alt and at - which is how you really fly VFR - eyes in the sky, "awareness" of the gauges.When I need to be looking around: finding airports, traffic, etc, I actually pop out of VC and into 2D, but without gauges. No matter what zoom you use in VC, nothing shows you the front 180 degrees of view you get from the real thing.

John, The scenario you presented is another of the many reasons I like and use the Flight1 View Module (f1view.zip).******* It's freeware.F1View does require a mouse wheel.It is a simple dll installed to the Modules folder (F1_view.dll) so is easily installed/removed if desired.*******Back to the scenario (sorry)... from the VC the outside zoom view can be set as desired in the usual FS9 way or with the mouse/key combinations provided with F1View, i.e. zoom 1.25, then a simple backward roll of the mouse wheel moves the pilot/viewpoint back in the cockpit without effecting the zoom. You now have the desired zoom/perspective and can see the critical panel gauges. With the yokes tophat you can adjust up and down as necessary to scan the panel or F1View provides the same by holding down the mousewheel while dragging the mouse forward or backward. Need to sit a little higher in the seat?: Shift+roll the mousewheel = viewpoint raises/lowersCtrl+roll mouse wheel = move left/right in the cockpitAnyway, there are a few other features like moving around the VC and cabin, walkarounds etc. No headbobs or clickity-clack feet sounds, but a really handy module for the freeware minded simmer.

Yes - F1view is very good -- but I use a joystick and this means my right hand is already occupied controlling the a/c. Maybe I should buy a yoke - but here in Australia, they are just too expensive to justify.Barry

Understood. I usually set up the aircraft, my seating and view preferences before departure (such as zoom 1.0). Then the only yoke/joystick maneuvering, besides flying, is operating the hat view for scanning the skies and gauges. I don't need to play with the mouse at all under these circumstances. (perhaps your joystick doesn't have a hat or it may be programmed to something different than scan view?)Anyway, the F1View was just a suggestion and/or possibility.Happy Flying! :-wave

Hi, Barry and everyone.If your Twist on the Stick is not used, assign it to Left/Right Pan view. Search for "Avcomware" for more info on VC ideas. TV

Which is better F1 or Active Camera? I have used active camera since it came out and really rely on it.Eric

>Taking my first GA flight/lesson in years the other day, one>thing I noticed when on final was the runway did not appear as>"long" and narrow as it does at MSFS's default zoom of 1.0 On>approach, this view pretty much approximated what my eye saw:>>http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0541695/L/Hi John!Here's a post on the subject:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...ing_type=searchMarco

Quick fix there is to fly left-handed. From the left seat in most GA or heavies, you would be doing that anyway. -dave

With Active Camera, you do exactly what you say.with the down arrow key on the numpad, you can push back in VC and see more guages. Thats zooms out the VC but it does not zoom out the external view.In addition Active Camera gives you head latency in VC mode. I can't live without that anymoreManny

I always use the 2D panel at .70-.75 as that seems to give me the best "sight picture" of the RW peripheral view. But the problem is, as you've correctly stated, that the straight-out-the-windscreen view at that setting is too long and skinny. I like something around 1.4 to get that view right - but then, to me, the periphiral view's all wrong. It seems to me that the 1.0 default view is somewhat of a compromise between the two. It would be great if we had a key command programmable onto the joystick/yoke that would allow for a fast switch between the two. I never thought of that before. Maybe we should suggest it to the FS team.Doug

Usually the issue I run into (I have the F1 utility) is although I can push back in the VC, sooner or later I push back into the pilot seat and it then blocks my forward view. -John