Quote:
Originally Posted by AdMan
the reason cockpits are modeled is because we don't have real historically accurate ww2 cockpit replicas to sit in at our computer monitors, but we do have real ww2 replica body parts 
by all means feel free to but yourself a pair of authenric flight gloves, jacket, etc to help your "immersion" if you feel it necessary |
The body parts, and the controllers we have, are not in the correct position. I have to significantly look away from my view screen in order to see myself interacting with the controllers (and even then it is hard to see due to the vast illumination difference). But my monitor is rather large (if I sit close to it); and with headtracking, it's a bit like wearing a VR display - except when I look down to my legs I am a ghost, and controls are moving on their own.
In the past when I have done sim-racing, I have been able to put the steering wheel on the desk in front of the monitor in such a way that it merges with the virtual cockpit. I would then, obviously, disable the rendering of the in-game wheel as it serves no purpose at all and I would just be seeing double.
I find wearing far-too-hot gloves (and purchasing them to begin with) and the other things you suggested to be a lot of hassle as well as doing nothing to correct the missing pieces in the cockpit.
I understand what you are saying if you see the aircraft as something to look at, as if admiring a plastic scale model kit. I see it as that, sometimes, but when flying, I would expect that a pilot would not find that they looked transparent, and neither do I want to experience that. Part of the cockpit is missing.
EDIT: I am sure they will allow people to turn it off. It has almost always been the case in the past. Operation Flashpoint, Armed Assault, and Armed Assault 2 did not allow making anything transparent, but I have yet to hear of a flight sim that did not allow it. BlackShark allows it, for example.