What does being a rated pilot have to do with the distance one can recognize another aircraft and whether it is coming or going in real life?
Last time I flew in the AvA with no icons I couldn't tell if the dots were coming at me or going away from me. They were dots.
Having ridden in an aircraft, I have been able to recognize the shape and direction of other aircraft from quite some distance.
Sorry I don't know the exact distance and cannot give an exact figure.
The obvious solution for icons is to develop a viewing system in 3-D in which the objects show up as actual representatives of what they are versus little dots at a distance.
BTW, I am one of the many who sees no problem with icons.
wrongway
having flown aircraft, i can easily recognize the direction of an aircraft at 3.5 miles....which is our default icon distance of 6,000 yards. that is if it is going across my field of view. the very same holds true in aces high. in real life, you cannot di a cessna type from this distance. in aces high, you cannot id an aircraft type from this distance.
if the aircraft is coming at you in real life, at that distance, the only clue you have, is that the object appears to get larger...otherwise there is no relative movement. same if it's going away, except that it appears to get smaller.
when i flew in the ava without icons, it was always pretty obvious if the con was heading towards me or not.....or if he just didn't see me, and was continuing on his merry way.
just sayin......