Hi R. J, welcome to Mutley's Hangar.
Mutley's is the friendliest flight sim forum on the www and I'm sure you will get answers to any questions you have.
None of which we deem to stupid. All questions are valid so ask away and enjoy the forum.
Now, have you tried the CTRL plus -/+ key combo?
This combo lets you zoom in or out but not affecting the scenery.
A lot of the guys here use EZDock and find it invaluable, so you could use that too.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Regards
Brian