Dale,
I've actually mentioned possibly putting the annotation at the 12 o'clock and 4 o'clock or reversed at 6 o'clock and 2 o'clock. This might resolve it in North-Up and Track-Up as well as Landscape and Portrait.
Another option might be to have an instrument box that shoes the Ring Distance, though I'm not sold on that one.
Lastly, we have talked about the possibility of an option to keep the plane in the center of the screen, basically Skew or Center Icon. This would climate the annotated issue and give a central reference point, you'd always know where to look for your icon. It's never been asked for on the forums, but I thought it might be well received.
I'll make sure we have some further dialog on this internally with Walter and Brian for the future. Thanks for the great feedback.