Different views in the cockpit - the parallax problem and a simple solution

 Displaying the views of the outside world is often a tricky business, especially in dual-seat cockpits. The main problem is that the captain (CPT) and first officer (FO) have a slightly different perspective of the screen, even though they are sitting right next to each other. This effect is called the parallax effect and is explained in more detail in this blog post: Why my co-pilot sees something different from me in the flight simulator.

With projection screens, the solution is usually to define two different views. One optimised for the CPT and one optimised for the FO. The views are always switched depending on who is currently flying. This blog post is about defining the views and switching between them.

A pragmatic solution with Fly Elise

The good news: From version 7.1.1 of Fly Elise Immersive Display Pro, there is a simple and practical solution to the problem.Various viewpoints can now be defined via a very user-friendly menu. Although the changes per viewpoint are subject to certain limitations, it is more than sufficient for correctly setting the CPT and FO views. 

Go to Simulators - Head:

To avoid having to constantly click around in the menu to select the right view, the various views can be conveniently called up using keyboard shortcuts. In our example, we have selected F5 and F6. However, any other free key can also be used.

Go to Settings - Inputs:

Switching directly in the cockpit

However, it would be even more practical if you didn't need the keyboard at all. That is to use the red take-over button on the sidestick for this purpose. It is available in all Airbus cockpit variants anyway.

Integration is carried out using the free version of FSUIPC. In just a few steps, the button can be configured so that it triggers a corresponding keystroke. This has several advantages:

• The take-over button is ergonomically easy to reach.
• The view can be taken over independently by each pilot.
• At the latest when the autopilot is deactivated, the view automatically switches to Pilot Flying.
• The solution works for all simulators that use Fly Elise for warping.

Launch the FSUIPC.exe from the FSUIPC installation folder and select "Buttons & Switches"

Press the red CPT sidestick take-over-button.

Choose "Select for key press" and then "Set". Press the according key (e.g. "F5").

Press "OK" and do the same for the F/O side.

Now your are good to go :-) 
Simple, isn't it? Thanks to Fly-Elise.

Other ways are possible

Of course, there are also alternatives. Anyone working with gates in the simulation software or with Mobiflight, for example, can also build elegant switching solutions with a small Lua script. 

If required, we may publish a small tutorial in a future article.However, for anyone looking for a quick and uncomplicated solution, Fly Elise Immersive Display Pro now offers what is probably the simplest approach to getting to grips with the parallax problem in the home cockpit.