I think if it was tried on beta one night experiment basis and that was explained in an arena message, folks could deal with it just fine. I have a lot of faith in the community.
...And that's where we differ wildly.
I think people would log out in droves after about their first 3 or 4 invisible plane deaths, and carry that over to a grudge with the 'direction the game is taking'. The community are a finicky lot. If people are forced into unfamiliar gameplay with limited playtime, they get cranky.
Ugh... Just had a thought. Imagine what one of the more competent 262 guys could do in a no icon environment...
Learning to function in a no icon environment just takes far too long to do as a short term test. In the other sim, on the sunday night no icon events (similar to FSO) I spent the first 3 months squinting at my screen looking for dots. It took me 5 months to get a kill in that environment. Granted, I was a complete flight sim newb when I began so couldn't keep up with my squad to save my life which didn't help any.
My point is, it's a change that takes dedication and desire to adjust to, not something to be tried for 6 hours. All 90% of people would get out of that is frustration and the feeling that their entertainment time was wasted.
Wiley.