Hi Red,

Not really sure what you mean here.  When you open a new scene Bryce defaults to a ground plane so you don't see the blue unless you delete the plane.  Can't see why you wouldn't want a plane, ground or water,  if you're dropping in a terrain.  Having said that, the only way I can think of achieving what you want is to make the plane massive and move it right back into the distance.  But without a ground plane you will still see the blue underneath.  Also, you can fiddle with the horizon line by moving the pan tool (the hand) at the bottom right of your screen.  Hope this helps.

Davey