Basically, I changed the starting point for my views. I used to start in the gun sight then hat switch forward and then hit F8 keeping me in the "centered position". It wasn't conducive for knife fighting and I always reverted back to the gun sight. Now, my starting point is manually positioned and saved.
I've accomplished what I wanted. Here is what I did:
I got the aircraft on the runway and went F3/F8, then zoomed in for a visual on where the pilot's eyes lined up with the windshield for a height reference. Then I went back in to the cockpit (F1), and used the left/right arrow keys to get me to the middle of the seat (looking down and moving to the middle of the seat), then used the page up/down keys to position my head approximately where the pilot's eyes would typically be. Then I hit F10. I some aircraft the "pilot view" I've wanted isn't that far of line with the gun sight. The George is a perfect example, I don't think I moved up hardly at all. The P47D-11 and Mossi FB Mk IV are the big examples of huge shifts in "gun sight view" and the "pilot view". Once I got the pilot view figured out, I hit F10 and saved it. I did this on 12-15 planes so far. I assigned a button on my joystick so that when it is time to fire I'm in the gun sight and all I have to do to get out of that view is to use the hat switch.
Now, my only issue is and it is a petty one hardly worth mentioning, is that the default gun sight view puts me lower in the gun sight that what I was used to (109's, 190's, and P40's for sure). So, a very slight learning curve might be in order. We'll see. So far, it worked well. I tool a P40F to 20k and engaged a couple of Hellcats and a Corsair trying to climb to me. The pilot view allowed for a far better view over the nose and when I needed to line up and fire it was a very quick process.
I wonder why HTC didn't set it up this way???
So in short here is the process:
1> Assign an easy to reach button the "View Head Position Default" and that will put you right in the gun sight. A quick tap of the hat switch will bring you out of it and back to your new "standard pilot view".
2> Use the page up/page down keys to get your height. If there is a question of what is a typical height use the F3/F8 and zoom in and notice the pilot's line of sight. Use that as a reference.
3> Use the left/right arrows to get your horizontal position. If there is a question of where the center is must hit F8 and pan down, center yourself over the seat. btw... the middle "o" in the phrase "Auto Take off Enabled" is very near if not exactly dead center of the screen.
4> Then hit F10 to save the position. If you has to pan down to center over the seat, no worry. Hit F10 and it will save it as if you were looking ahead and not down.
Now enjoy a larger and more typical view that a pilot would have had in the real deal, now knows as the "standard pilot view". In most planes the the pilot had to shift his head to look through the gun sight due to design and obvious physical height differences between the pilot. The gun sight view offers a restricted view in most cases. Plus, I have a thing about being historical first and gamey second so being able to peer out the cockpit more like the pilots actually did while flying gives me the look I wanted.
EDIT: I still have my forward hat switch taking me higher and forward in the cockpit, when able. I bet the 109 pilots banged their head on the glass a lot, there isn't much room in there. Barely enough to pick their nose.
