[JAMF]

A slightly different way of doing it, as you can focus on the cockpit without needing to fly:

Start IL2 -> Multiplay -> Create new server -> Create -> Mission Type: 2 -> Mission: Dogfight 5 -> Load

Select airfiled/runway in grid Echo 2, it's a concrete runway, might be useful.
Go to Arming and select aircraft being worked on-> apply -> fly

(*)Take notes and/or screenshots

Esc -> Refly -> Arming -> select different aircraft -> apply -> fly

Then Ctrl+Esc to desktop to edit the texture, save file.

Click the game in the taskbar.

Esc -> Refly -> Arming -> select aircraft being worked on-> apply -> fly

(return to *)

Reason for DF Mission 5 is it has 2 sides, the concrete runway, takes fewer mouse movement than DF Mission 13 in "4". For bug hunting, the sun is lower in the sky (not noon), so turning the AC around will show the sunlit side of the texture is set correctly in the MAT file.

[EDIT] "Quit mission -> Load -> Select airfield" replaced by "Refly", much quicker.