Will. It's a long time since I did anything for CFS1. My first thought is that you need to flatten the default 3D terrain mesh. I think you can do this for CFS1 from the Synthetic Scenery option in FSSC Edit/Scenery Properties.
Copied from FSSC Help/Tutorials.
FS95, FS98, and CFS1 only
In the Synthetic Scenery tab, we can choose a size and picture (texture) of the ground around the vicinity of the airport. Setting the size to something other than "None" is required only if you want to change the altitude to something that is different from the default scenery, or to change the ground from water to land. Since we are doing both with our island, go ahead and set the size to the third option (14700m, 48100ft), and to any texture other than Transparent. Synthetic tiles are arranged as blocks of varying (but limited) sizes in a fixed grid. FS Scenery Creator displays the possible block sizes, and makes the closest fit of blocks to the given scenery center. The block boundary will be marked by a thick black rectangle on the editor. You may need to zoom out a few times to see the boundary.
I don't know which panel you're using. It shouldn't affect the exterior views. Try going to Spot view first before selecting Top Down view.
PS. Hit W to lose the panel or change the aircraft before taking the shot.
PPS. Read my CFS Panel Clinic.
http://www.simviation.com/lair/CFSpc.htm