I just posted this in another thread, but it should be in this one instead.
Tool, I don't use a TrackIR, though I'd like to get it someday, but I have a button on my CH throttle that I push when I want to see over the nose. To program this, you need to program the Look Forward command.
Once this button was programmed to Look Forward, hold the button down, and raise your head all the way, and move it all the way forward, and hit F10 to lock in this head position. Now, whenever I need to look over the cowling, I push this button, and my head goes up and forward for a better view, and when I let go of the button my head returns to its natural position in the cockpit.
I seriously doubt that a user of TrackIR would be able to get their view over the cowling to be any better than this, since they too are limited to the amount of head freedom that we are allowed using the head movement keys.
Thing is, when I take off in a fighter, I open up my E6B and then close the map with a key on my throttle (so I can look at the E6B while flying without having to use my mouse again), and then I'll set the mouse pointer tip right on the center of my gunsight. With the mouse pointer thus set, if I use my "look over the cowling" button, and the gunsight graphic goes off screen because my head's too high, it's OK because my mouse pointer is still pointing where the gunsight is.
Sure, it's a little gamey, but it doesn't bother me, because without trackIR we're so limited with respect to our views and such that we can achieve during combat in this game that it's just one little advantage we claw back out of a lot of disadvantage.