FS Cockpit Seems Too Low?

[NeoMorph]

One of the things I have noticed on the FS cockpits is they seem too low.

For instance, here is the Flight-1 ATR 72-500 sitting on the runway. My Vauxhall Zafira seems to sit me higher than the cockpit appears in this picture...



Is it me or is it the program at fault here? To me it feels like the fuselage is belly down on the runway.

[autocadplease]

You can change your seat/eye height. It has been awhile since I have had to do this but I believe it is CTRL+Q and CTRL+Shift+Q (in 2D view).

[saabpilot]

You can change all in a more "permanent" way in the aircrafts panel.cfg file.
Look in the enclosed picture.  Sorry that it is in Swedish, but here is an explanation of the underlined values:

RED        = CHAIR POSITION UP/DOWN
BLUE      = HEIGHT over runway
YELLOW = Height of horizon
GREEN    = RUNWAY end sideways correction.

If you do not see those lines - just add them to "VIEWS" section in panel.cfg
Observe that the values can be negative or positive depending on the direction you like to move the eyepoint from its center !

Best,
Bjorn

[ETomlin]

Hi Neo

The ATR is actually not that big of an aircraft, and it does sit lower to the ground (just like the Dash 8/Q400) than any of the Boeings/Airbuses. However, it's not a tiny aircraft in any stretch but what probably makes it look like it's sitting low to the ground is the fact that the runway is at least 100' or wider, maybe 150'. That's probably making it appear to be sitting low. Set your outside visual height to about 5.5' high and then see how wide the runway seems to youout side the airplane at that height. Then go back into the cockpit and compare.

[NeoMorph]

Thanks for your help guys... I'm beginning to guess that it might be a perspective trick of the eye... My problem is that any aircraft I've been in I tended to get out before landing.  Kind of ironic that skydiving got me into flight simming (yet I used to be terrified while flying and only felt safe when I jumped out... go figure).

What I think is affecting my view is that the runways I took off from were only small airfields like Shobdon and Halfpenny Green. The only times I jumped from larger aircraft (like a C130) I was stuck in the back and didn't see the runway from the cockpit.

[ETomlin]

Hi Neo. Jumping outta planes wouldnt have ANYthing to do with the joint issue would it? :-) I jest.

I would like to share an experience with you. When I first flew out of a small airfield with a 100' runway @ around 4000' long and then took a short 5 mile jog over to a former US Naval airbase and saw the 200' wide runways @ 12,000' feet long, it wasnt that impressive believe it or not. However, after doing touch and goes at the old NAS and returning to the airport we departed from, that was when I realized how small the runways there were. As an aside, I think at the time they were only 75' wide but it shows now as 100'. Regardless, those 4000' long runways were very tiny after spending time at NAS :-)

[NeoMorph]

Actually the joint problem is due to Joint Hypermobility (I dislocate easy). I think the numerous dislocations I got jumping (and falling down stairs) is mostly to blame for causing some of the pain... then along came a surgeon that operated 5 times and actually made matters worse. This was before they really knew that Joint Hypermobility was so I can't in all fairness blame the guy.

Back to the perception issue, I think I may have figured out why it seems too low. In Flight simulator the entire image is in focus. In real life where you look is in focus and out of that area it gets more blurred. The greater the distance, the more the blurring. Because I am seeing it ALL in focus my mind is saying "Hey, you must be really close to this if you can see it all clearly." I find that images done in Forza 3 with focus blurring looks further away than when I remove the blurring effect. I think I just need a good 3D monitor heh...

Say, can you get Flight Sim to work in 3D? That would be awesome!