Virtual Cockpit HUD - What does everything mean?
 

Please excuse my ignorance, but can anyone tell me what all the things on the HUD mean? Here's a couple of screen shots to help:

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/x...7-54-17-39.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/x...9-29-29-70.jpg

I see along the top we've got some numbers with a ^ between. First I thought that was a heading, but now I'm not so sure.

Down the sides we've got some numbers, which I think are the angle you are flying, with 0 being level?

In the centre we've got -O- but we've also got one that moves about. So what's the difference?

The P-51 also has some sort of sight for the rockets, but again I don't really understand how to use it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

On top you got your aircraft's bearing; 9=East, 18=South, 27=West, N=North.

On the side you got the angle of attack (AoA) in degrees.

The -O- represents the future position of your aircraft and is a common symbol on modern HUDs. The second symbol shows the direction your nose is pointing.

Hope that helped!

Thanks, but I'm still not sure I understand the two -O- symbols. Surely the fixed one is where your nose is pointing? The future position I don't understand.

Sorry for being stupid!

Your nose can point upwards while you still move only forward without changing the altitude or even descend. If the -O- symbol is above the horizon (the 0 line) you are climbing, when it's below you are descending.

I notice that in the lower screen shot the throttle is set to WEP. What happens if WEP is left on for too long? Also, what does the little plane and number in the bottom left of the screen refer to?

Also, is there any way to tell if other planes are higher or lower than you in the radar circle?

WEP: On arcade mode I think it will simply turn off automatically and have no further influence. On realistic and sim mode leaving WEP on for too long results in engine damage.

The little plane represents the number of primary targets. On the Dover mission it first shows the number of remaining bombers and then switches to the number of remaining Stukas when the objective is changed.