Being able to see out is the least of concerns. One has to navigate, and to do that one needs to be able to see instrumentation. The 747 is a numbers airplane; one needs to know airspeed and altitude, and needs to be able to program navigational equipment to get down. It does one very little good to stall on approach, or explode in a fireball off the end when one lands far too fast to stop.
Guppy, re-read my post and have a look at the link. This is exactly what I was driving at - a wearable (and thereby not affected by smoke) display of the INSTRUMENTS of the a/c. Didn't say or mean looking out.