VC question...

[beeker46]

I am beginning to use the VC more than the 2D panel lately, but there is one very annoying (and hopefully fixable) problem associated with the VC...

Whenever I scroll back with the mouse wheel to give myself a better look at the cockpit surrounds (going from .90 to .40 as an example), the view outside of the aircraft also changes to become more and more 'fish-eye'. Let me use this example... I am sitting in my car and my seat is too far forward, so I slide the seat back, giving me more space between my knees (and my eyes) and the steering wheel and instrument cluster. Yet, my perspective of the driveway and front of my house remains unchanged, it stays the same. I would like the same for FSX, I put the seat back giving me more view of the instruments, but the view outside the cockpit windows remains unchanged and 'normal'. I don't mind scrolling around with the mouse to see the whole instrument panel (in real life you have to move your head around a bit to find all the knobs and buttons), but I don't want my view of the outside scenery to change. I can't see the runway with the 'fish-eye' view and cannot gauge my distance when everything is so far away. Is there a fix or am I stuck with this annoying problem?

edit: and I do not like the idea of attaching my head to a device that will track my view as I move my head around (that IR track thing)..sometimes I look around the room on long flights and don't want my screen to go view-crazy mimicking my real life movements.

[Tom/CalClassic]

Hi,

In FS you use Ctrl Enter and Ctrl Backspace to move forward and back in the VC. My mouse wheel does not do anything in the VC. But it appears that when you use the mouse wheel it probably changes the zoom value, which gives you the fish eye appearance.

[beeker46]

I will look into the Ctrl inputs, then... yes, my mouse wheel changes the zoom, and perhaps I can disable that somehow, or assign it to the Ctrl inputs mentioned. I can see the advantages of using the VC over the 2D... better visibility over the nose with tail draggers and better overall views when I use the mouse to look around. I just wrapped up a short flight from Richmond to D.C. in the VC exclusively, and I landed without incident, though it did seem my landing felt faster than normal even though my airspeed said otherwise.

[Tom/CalClassic]

Hi,

If this is FS9, make sure your zoom level fits your screen proportions, or you may get some effects like that. If FSX, the FSX Tutorial should be followed.

[beeker46]

I still have FS9 installed, but collecting a ton of dust... lol...

[johnhinson]

You can use minus and plus keys to zoom back and forth in both FS9 and FSX when in the old-fashioned cockpit mode. The percentage is shown upper right of screen when you change.

John

[Tom/CalClassic]

Yes but that changes the zoom, which will result in the outside view changing its perspective. He was trying to avoid that.

[Erik]

Avid VC fan here, though using FS9 with Active Camera* so a whole different setup. Just in case it might help: I have disabled the scroll wheel zoom function** but use the combination of pressing in the scroll wheel plus moving the mouse (actually the marble in my track wheel mouse) to pan around the cockpit. Perhaps that is possible for you too, beeker?

Additionally, I apply the Simulation Control Interface Tutorial*** from Tom's Tutorials page before flying a 'new' aircraft and I set my viewpoint so I see at least the basic instruments in default view. That already takes away much of the pan or zoom needs during most flight stages.

* Has become abandonware, it seems. An alternative using FS Recorder is explaine here by Connieguy.

** Scroll wheel only is used on flight instrument dials, the perfect way of setting them.

*** There's one for FS9 and one for FSX/P3D.

Erik