I agree. A on/off switch would be nice.
The distance thing has always bothered me.
When flying around my home base I see nameplates that are FAR FAR away but look close.
They are way away and yet they are all over the sky creating local clutter.
A Distance Selection would be a marvelous thing to incorporate. I would imagine it may even help with the frame rate as the sim would not have to include aircraft a selected distance away,