I play solely in 3rd person, and have found that when using larger ships, no matter how distant you set the camera, the HUD element for Shield/Hull/Boost/Speed overlaps the ship pretty poorly, becoming a distraction in some cases, or in others, difficult to read at all. Changing the camera height is unfortunately a non-starter, as currently, the "higher" you set it, the more top-down the view becomes rather than being what one would expect from a usual 3rd person perspective.
I took it upon myself to do a mockup of moving the elements around to be more spacious and less center-cluttering in 3rd person.
You'll see how the HUD is normally first, and then sort of a general idea after for comparison.
**Admittedly, using a Moreya to show the idea was a poor decision given its size, but the point still stands**
The only issue I can forsee is engine trails in regards to the new placement of the Shield/Hull/Boost/Speed element, however I believe with some opacity it would be perfectly fine.
I've done this using the designs of the elements already created, as to keep with the look and feel as is.
Even if this doesn't become what it would look like, I really just wanted to get the idea out there that some space is sorely needed for External View.