Hide the HUD in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, remove chase-camera flight data, and fix toolbar, navigation-aid or aircraft HUD overlays.
To hide the HUD in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, open Options > Assistance Options > User Experience and switch Instrument Heads-Up Display – Chase Cam to Off. Also disable the Cockpit Cam version if it appears. Apply and save the change. This removes the simulator’s flight-data overlay, not a physical HUD modelled inside an aircraft.
How do I turn off the chase-camera HUD?
- Open Options: enter the Options menu from the main screen or pause menu.
- Select Assistance Options: expand the User Experience section.
- Disable the overlay: set Instrument Heads-Up Display – Chase Cam to Off. Set Instrument Heads-Up Display – Cockpit Cam to Off as well if you do not want the simulator-generated cockpit overlay.
- Save the setting: choose Apply & Save, then return to the flight.
If those switches are absent from User Experience, check General Options > Camera and expand the Chase Camera settings. Some MSFS 2020 menu layouts place Instrument Heads-Up Display there instead.
Changing an overall Assistance preset later can restore the HUD. After disabling it, leave the preset on Custom rather than selecting another preset that overwrites individual assistance options.
Why is the HUD still visible?
Several unrelated interface elements are commonly called the HUD, but each has a different control.
| What remains on screen | What it is | How to remove it |
|---|---|---|
| Airspeed, altitude, compass and engine data in external view | Chase-camera instrument HUD | Disable Instrument Heads-Up Display – Chase Cam. |
| Toolbar handle or icons at the top | In-flight toolbar | Move the pointer away and allow it to retract, or adjust its icons. Our guide to controlling the in-flight toolbar explains how to hide and restore it. |
| Taxi ribbon, waypoint markers or landing gates | Navigation assistance | Turn off the relevant Navigation Aids options; see the navigation-assistance settings and marker controls. |
| Projected symbols on a fighter or airliner’s HUD glass | Aircraft equipment modelled in the cockpit | Use that aircraft’s HUD power, brightness or display controls. The exact switch differs between aircraft. |
| A separate PFD, MFD or navigation display window | Popped-out cockpit instrument | Close the detached window or reverse the pop-out command. See how detachable cockpit instruments differ from HUD overlays. |
Can one key hide every MSFS 2020 overlay?
No single command hides every HUD and interface layer in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. The chase-camera data, toolbar, navigation aids, notifications and aircraft-installed HUDs are separate systems, so changing camera view alone will not disable all of them.
For a clean screenshot, disable the Chase Cam HUD and unwanted navigation aids first, then let the toolbar retract. The drone or showcase camera also gives a cleaner external view, but it does not change the underlying assistance settings.