So, about that little red light...

[Rama]

Originally Posted by zapatista

completely wrong, unless you are using a 14' monitor from the 1980's, use large magnification glasses the size of vodka glasses and are sitting with your nose touching the screen.

you dont seem to understand how modern video display technology works

I do understand it much better than YOU seems to do.... (and IRL I'm an expert in digital photogrammetry and numerical aerial photography cameras... so such things like FOV are part of my everyday job).

Let's take my 16/9 22" LCD monitor. Horizontal half-size is equal to: ((16*22)/sqrt(16^2+9^2))/2 = (352/18.36)/2 = 19.17/2 = 9.58"
Size to the screen for a FOV of 30° is so:
Dist = 9.58/tgt(30°/2) = 35.7" (or around 90 cm... which is approximatively the distance from my eyes to the monitor... )

This proove that if you sit at a normal distance to the screen (I can do the same math for any kind of monitor size and standard viewing distance to them), the FOV you have is 30°
So 30° FOV (maximum zoom) is the view you should use in order to have a correct geometrical point of view through your screen.

If you use a 90° FOV (standard "non-zoomed" view of IL2), then you should have your eyes at:
9.58/tgt(90°/2) = 9.58" = 24cm to your screen
THAT would badly hurt your vision...

I didn't read the rest of your lengtly post... simple geometry is enough to show how much you're wrong in your first sentences.