The Difference Between Glass and Conventional Cockpits
Aircraft have advanced in many ways through the years, seeing various leaps in technology, performance, capability, and more. One of the biggest changes that has happened to aircraft was the introduction of the glass cockpit, that of which replaced the conventional round dials and gauges originally relied on by pilots. While there are major benefits to the glass cockpit, it can often be an expensive investment to upgrade if you still have a conventional set-up. As such, one may wonder what the differences between each are, and the various pros and cons of the upgrade decision. In this blog, we will discuss these details further to help you better make a decision.
While there are a variety of differences between glass and conventional cockpits, much can be summed up as conventional cockpits having mechanical gauges to display information and flight data while glass cockpits utilize multi-function displays for the same data presentation. As many modern aircraft are initially designed with glass cockpits as the new standard, it can be a hefty investment to upgrade one’s cockpit if they still have old fixtures and technology. On average, a glass cockpit upgrade may cost anywhere from $100,000 to $250,000. As such, those with tighter budgets may either not be able to upgrade, or would want to first understand if their investment would truly be worth it, or if steam gauges are good enough.
With a conventional setup, the vertical speed indicator, heading indicator, altimeter, and other various instruments will all have their own unique steam gauge or instrument, requiring the pilot to know what dial they need to look at when certain information is needed. This also creates a more packed flight deck with a number of displays to ensure that the pilot is provided with all they need to maintain a safe and optimal flight. Meanwhile, glass cockpits combine all of these instruments into multiple multi-function displays so that pertinent data is more easily accessible. Furthermore, these multi-function displays are driven by flight management systems, and displays can be customized by pilots as needed to convey different flight information that is required at the time. This can make it much simpler to maintain data awareness without overwhelming the pilot. Through studies and data, it has been shown that when used properly, glass cockpits are safer than conventional cockpits with their increased situational awareness.
Nevertheless, there are certain drawbacks to glass cockpits that go beyond their high price tag. For example, they are not quite able to be implemented within smaller aircraft, as such models would not have enough electrical power to sustain operations without being drained quickly. This is also something to consider with larger aircraft as well, as the switch to electrical instruments and displays warrants more power and electrical lines. Steam gauges will also continue to work in the instance of a power failure, potentially making them more reliable in some regards. Beyond such examples, personal factors may be considered, such as one needing to retrain themselves on how to attain data from instruments if they have never flown a glass cockpit aircraft.
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