[klem]

Strike, I think you have a point and I've always mistrusted the whole CoD 'straps tightened' thing because it doesn't make sense.

Anyone who has sat strapped tight in a cockpit knows they can see more than 90 degrees either side due to peripheral vision so that's wrong for a start. Also, in a combat situation no-one is going to have their eye that close to the gunsight. The straps would have to be loose to do that and as you say that is no way to enter combat.

Personally I think the whole 'gunsight' concept is pointless and superfluous. A 'Straps Tight' is fine to reduce headshake and limit the view to some degree, say +/- 130 degrees, but keeping the head the same distance from the gunsight. Of course to give that some value, the 'straps loose' setting should have us bouncing round the cockpit and suffering injury according to G forces so that everyone is forced to use 'straps tight' in combat and suffer the same visual restrictions.

Then of course there's the whole 109 gunsight alignment question which is actually a separate matter. I think trying to solve that has dragged us into the unreal 'gunsight view' situation.