modern full-color flat-panel display screens called a glass cockpit brands

A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges.multi-function displays driven by flight management systems, that can be adjusted to display flight information as needed. This simplifies aircraft operation and navigation and allows pilots to focus only on the most pertinent information. They are also popular with airline companies as they usually eliminate the need for a flight engineer, saving costs. In recent

As aircraft displays have modernized, the sensors that feed them have modernized as well. Traditional gyroscopic flight instruments have been replaced by electronic attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS) and air data computers (ADCs), improving reliability and reducing cost and maintenance. GPS receivers are usually integrated into glass cockpits.

Early glass cockpits, found in the McDonnell Douglas MD-80, Boeing 737 Classic, ATR 42, ATR 72 and in the Airbus A300-600 and A310, used electronic flight instrument systems (EFIS) to display attitude and navigational information only, with traditional mechanical gauges retained for airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, and engine performance. The Boeing 757 and 767-200/-300 introduced an electronic engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) for monitoring engine performance while retaining mechanical gauges for airspeed, altitude and vertical speed.

Later glass cockpits, found in the Boeing 737NG, 747-400, 767-400, 777, Airbus A320, later Airbuses, Ilyushin Il-96 and Tupolev Tu-204 have completely replaced the mechanical gauges and warning lights in previous generations of aircraft. While glass cockpit-equipped aircraft throughout the late 20th century still retained analog altimeters, attitude, and airspeed indicators as standby instruments in case the EFIS displays failed, more modern aircraft have increasingly been using digital standby instruments as well, such as the integrated standby instrument system.

Glass cockpits originated in military aircraft in the late 1960s and early 1970s; an early example is the Mark II avionics of the F-111D (first ordered in 1967, delivered from 1970–73), which featured a multi-function display.

Prior to the 1970s, air transport operations were not considered sufficiently demanding to require advanced equipment like electronic flight displays. Also, computer technology was not at a level where sufficiently light and powerful electronics were available. The increasing complexity of transport aircraft, the advent of digital systems and the growing air traffic congestion around airports began to change that.

The Boeing 2707 was one of the earliest commercial aircraft designed with a glass cockpit. Most cockpit instruments were still analog, but cathode ray tube (CRT) displays were to be used for the attitude indicator and horizontal situation indicator (HSI). However, the 2707 was cancelled in 1971 after insurmountable technical difficulties and ultimately the end of project funding by the US government.

The average transport aircraft in the mid-1970s had more than one hundred cockpit instruments and controls, and the primary flight instruments were already crowded with indicators, crossbars, and symbols, and the growing number of cockpit elements were competing for cockpit space and pilot attention.NASA conducted research on displays that could process the raw aircraft system and flight data into an integrated, easily understood picture of the flight situation, culminating in a series of flights demonstrating a full glass cockpit system.

The success of the NASA-led glass cockpit work is reflected in the total acceptance of electronic flight displays. The safety and efficiency of flights have been increased with improved pilot understanding of the aircraft"s situation relative to its environment (or "situational awareness").

By the end of the 1990s, liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels were increasingly favored among aircraft manufacturers because of their efficiency, reliability and legibility. Earlier LCD panels suffered from poor legibility at some viewing angles and poor response times, making them unsuitable for aviation. Modern aircraft such as the Boeing 737 Next Generation, 777, 717, 747-400ER, 747-8F 767-400ER, 747-8, and 787, Airbus A320 family (later versions), A330 (later versions), A340-500/600, A340-300 (later versions), A380 and A350 are fitted with glass cockpits consisting of LCD units.

The glass cockpit has become standard equipment in airliners, business jets, and military aircraft. It was fitted into NASA"s Space Shuttle orbiters Atlantis, Columbia, Discovery, and Endeavour, and the Russian Soyuz TMA model spacecraft that were launched for the first time in 2002. By the end of the century glass cockpits began appearing in general aviation aircraft as well. In 2003, Cirrus Design"s SR20 and SR22 became the first light aircraft equipped with glass cockpits, which they made standard on all Cirrus aircraft. By 2005, even basic trainers like the Piper Cherokee and Cessna 172 were shipping with glass cockpits as options (which nearly all customers chose), as well as many modern utility aircraft such as the Diamond DA42. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II features a "panoramic cockpit display" touchscreen that replaces most of the switches and toggles found in an aircraft cockpit. The civilian Cirrus Vision SF50 has the same, which they call a "Perspective Touch" glass cockpit.

Unlike the previous era of glass cockpits—where designers merely copied the look and feel of conventional electromechanical instruments onto cathode ray tubes—the new displays represent a true departure. They look and behave very similarly to other computers, with windows and data that can be manipulated with point-and-click devices. They also add terrain, approach charts, weather, vertical displays, and 3D navigation images.

The improved concepts enable aircraft makers to customize cockpits to a greater degree than previously. All of the manufacturers involved have chosen to do so in one way or another—such as using a trackball, thumb pad or joystick as a pilot-input device in a computer-style environment. Many of the modifications offered by the aircraft manufacturers improve situational awareness and customize the human-machine interface to increase safety.

Modern glass cockpits might include synthetic vision systems (SVS) or enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS). Synthetic vision systems display a realistic 3D depiction of the outside world (similar to a flight simulator), based on a database of terrain and geophysical features in conjunction with the attitude and position information gathered from the aircraft navigational systems. Enhanced flight vision systems add real-time information from external sensors, such as an infrared camera.

Many modern general aviation aircraft are available with glass cockpits. Systems such as the Garmin G1000 are now available on many new GA aircraft, including the classic Cessna 172. Many small aircraft can also be modified post-production to replace analogue instruments.

Glass cockpits are also popular as a retrofit for older private jets and turboprops such as Dassault Falcons, Raytheon Hawkers, Bombardier Challengers, Cessna Citations, Gulfstreams, King Airs, Learjets, Astras, and many others. Aviation service companies work closely with equipment manufacturers to address the needs of the owners of these aircraft.

Today, smartphones and tablets use mini-applications, or "apps", to remotely control complex devices, by WiFi radio interface. They demonstrate how the "glass cockpit" idea is being applied to consumer devices. Applications include toy-grade UAVs which use the display and touch screen of a tablet or smartphone to employ every aspect of the "glass cockpit" for instrument display, and fly-by-wire for aircraft control.

The glass cockpit idea made news in 1980s trade magazines, like Atlantis was the first orbiter to be retrofitted with a glass cockpit in 2000 with the launch of STS-101. STS-109 in 2002, followed by STS-114, and STS-118.

As aircraft operation depends on glass cockpit systems, flight crews must be trained to deal with failures. The Airbus A320 family has seen fifty incidents where several flight displays were lost.

On 25 January 2008 United Airlines Flight 731 experienced a serious glass-cockpit blackout, losing half of the Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor (ECAM) displays as well as all radios, transponders, Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), and attitude indicators.

Airbus has offered an optional fix, which the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has suggested to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as mandatory, but the FAA has yet to make it a requirement.integrated standby instrument system that includes (at a minimum) an artificial horizon, altimeter and airspeed indicator. It is electronically separate from the main instruments and can run for several hours on a backup battery.

In 2010, the NTSB published a study done on 8,000 general aviation light aircraft. The study found that, although aircraft equipped with glass cockpits had a lower overall accident rate, they also had a larger chance of being involved in a fatal accident.

Training is clearly one of the key components to reducing the accident rate of light planes equipped with glass cockpits, and this study clearly demonstrates the life and death importance of appropriate training on these complex systems... While the technological innovations and flight management tools that glass cockpit equipped airplanes bring to the general aviation community should reduce the number of fatal accidents, we have not—unfortunately—seen that happen.

Wallace, Lane. "Airborne Trailblazer: Two Decades with NASA Langley"s 737 Flying Laboratory". NASA. Retrieved 2012-04-22. Prior to the 1970s, air transport operations were not considered sufficiently demanding to require advanced equipment like electronic flight displays. The increasing complexity of transport aircraft, the advent of digital systems and the growing air traffic congestion around airports began to change that, however. She added that the average transport aircraft in the mid-1970s had more than 100 cockpit instruments and controls, and the primary flight instruments were already crowded with indicators, crossbars, and symbols. In other words, the growing number of cockpit elements were competing for cockpit space and pilot attention.

"Safety Recommendation A08-53" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 2008-07-22. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-04-19. According to Airbus, as of May 2007, 49 events similar to the United Airlines flight 731 and UK events had occurred in which the failure of electrical busses resulted in the loss of flight displays and various aircraft systems.

It turns out that aircraft owners who upgrade their cockpits with the latest glass-panel avionics share some interesting similarities with shoppers for smartphones, flat-screen TVs, laptops or just about any other broadly adopted consumer electronics product.When the first smartphones hit the market several years ago they were cumbersome to use, lacked capabilities and cost a small fortune. Early adopters had to have them, of course, but most people held onto their old phones, at least for a while. Over time, smartphone technology improved dramatically and prices dropped, the two ingredients necessary to attract a mass audience.The market for retrofit avionics has followed a similar trajectory. The first retrofit EFIS products to reach the market a couple of decades ago couldn’t do much beyond replacing a blue-over-brown electromechanical attitude indicator with a color screen. Despite the astronomical prices for these rudimentary early products, some aircraft owners just had to have them. Most aircraft owners said thanks but no thanks.

Next came active-matrix LCD displays and early versions of synthetic vision, which represented an important technological leap but still were priced out of the reach of most buyers. Again, early adopters couldn’t reach for their checkbooks fast enough, while the majority of pilots watched the market with curiosity but without any overwhelming compulsion to upgrade their old but serviceable six-pack instrument clusters with the shiny new glass displays.

Fast-forward to 2018 and that’s all changing. Suddenly, prices for retrofit avionics have come way down and functionalities have exploded. After the FAA relaxed avionics certification rules a couple of years ago, products originally destined for the Experimental market, such as the Garmin G5 display and Dynon D10A EFIS, were made available to owners of Part 23 piston airplanes for enticingly low prices. Those who faced expensive repair bills to fix or replace older electromechanical instruments realized they could make the relics in their panels magically disappear forever by purchasing a new solid-state EFIS with built-in inertial sensors and backup battery for about the same price as a replacement mechanical ADI.

The FAA sweetened the pot last year by allowing approval of non-TSO’d autopilots in Part 23 airplanes. Suddenly, an owner of an aging piston airplane like a Cessna Skylane or Piper Archer could upgrade to state-of-the-art glass displays and autopilots from a half-dozen manufacturers for prices that make sound economic sense.

While this revolutionary change was occurring at the low end of the market, several avionics-makers began introducing highly capable retrofit avionics systems for high-performance piston airplanes, turboprops and light jets that could transform dinosaurs into technological beasts boasting the same capabilities, or in some cases better capabilities, than new airplanes rolling out of the factory.

Clearly, the market for retrofit avionics has matured beyond the early adopter stage. According to the Aircraft Electronics Association, retrofit avionics sales exploded last year, surging more than 20 percent over the previous year. So far this year the trend is continuing, with retrofit avionics sales rising another 12.6 percent versus last year. We’re well into the “early majority” stage that product marketers so covet, soon to be followed by the “late majority” of buyers and finally the “laggards” who will upgrade their crusty old Skyhawks only after everyone else on the field is already flying with upgraded avionics.

Of course, there will always be those pilots who prefer flying with round instruments to glass, and that’s OK — but let’s face it: They haven’t made it this far in the article to know we’re talking about them.

For the rest of us — the “majority” of pilots, who understand the value of the latest cockpit technology — we want to know what the newest products to hit the market can do for us and what they cost. On the next pages we’ll take a look at what’s new in the retrofit avionics market today.

When the FAA a couple of years ago relaxed approval standards for certain avionics in certified Part 23 airplanes, it opened a pathway for manufacturers to skip the lengthy and expensive TSO certification pathway and create new products for general aviation based on ASTM standards rather than the cumbersome DO-178 standards for software, in the process sometimes slashing millions of dollars from the development costs of a single product. By achieving parts manufacturing approval (PMA) and supplemental type certification (STC) for products more typical of Experimental-category avionics, manufacturers were able to bring prices down considerably for hundreds of types through the approved model list (AML) process. Even the avionics manufacturers themselves say they did not anticipate how quickly aircraft owners would adopt these products, but it turns out that the combination of lower prices and additional capabilities makes for a winning formula.

Touchscreens are going mainstream, and why not? As long as an alternative means of entering information in turbulence is offered, touch interfaces clearly are superior, as we all learned the first time we picked up an iPad. Garmin’s new touch-series cockpits, the G500 TXi and G600 TXi, incorporate touchscreens and superfast computer processors that support lightning-quick map and chart rendering, fast panning and single-finger zoom and pinch-to-zoom capabilities.

Three TXi display sizes are available, offering flexibility for panel configurations. Our favorite is the large 10.6-inch display, which just looks right in the panel of an airplane like a Beech Bonanza. There are also two versions of 7-inch displays, in portrait and landscape orientations. The 10.6-inch display can operate as a PFD, MFD or optional integrated engine indication display. The 7-inch portrait display can be dedicated to any one of those functions, while the 7-inch landscape unit is available exclusively as an engine display. The G500 TXi system is intended for Part 23 Class I/II aircraft under 6,000 pounds, and the G600 TXi for Class III aircraft weighing up to 12,500 pounds.

When the TXi series is paired with a GTN 650/750 touch-screen navigator, Connext wireless connectivity offers additional capabilities. Flight Stream 510 is an option with the GTN 650/750, which enables Database Concierge, the wireless transfer of aviation databases from the Garmin Pilot app on a mobile device to a GTN and the TXi system. Flight Stream 510 can also share information with compatible mobile devices running Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight Mobile, including two-way flight-plan transfer, traffic, weather, GPS information and backup attitude information.

BendixKing has been on a roll lately, introducing several new products that are turning heads and giving competitors reason to believe the storied brand is back in a big way.

The new AeroVue Touch cockpit introduced this spring is a single-box PFD retrofit option for certified general aviation aircraft that will be available for installation on 353 different aircraft types through an AML STC. AeroVue Touch features a 10.1-inch touchscreen and a “near-4K” high-resolution display offering the choice of a full-screen PFD or a split-screen shared with a moving map and other flight information. Large display buttons and infrared scanning allow easy use even by gloved hands, BendixKing says, and shallow menus provide access to all system functions with a maximum of four touches.

Additional features of the cockpit include Honeywell’s SmartView synthetic-vision system, 2D and 3D moving maps and taxi diagrams, and VFR sectional charts and IFR high- and low-altitude charts. Pilots can update databases via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or through a dedicated USB-C port.

Dynon Avionics made its mark in aviation with a highly capable portfolio of products for the Experimental market. Now, the company is beginning to seriously encroach on the market for certified avionics. It has received its first supplemental type certificate for the SkyView HDX avionics system aimed initially at older Cessna Skyhawks. Cessna owners can now replace the vast majority of their legacy instruments with a SkyView HDX system offering complete primary flight instrumentation and a whole lot more.

The SkyView HDX cockpit includes synthetic vision angle of attack indication and engine monitoring with CHTs, EGTs, fuel flow, fuel computer and lean assist. Dynon’s integrated two-axis autopilot also earns approval for IFR-approach capability when SkyView is integrated with a compatible GPS navigator. The approved installation includes a Mode S transponder with 2020-compliant ADS-B Out capability and moving map with ADS-B traffic and weather overlay. The backup flight instrument is the Dynon D10A, which has a built-in backup battery.

Aspen Avionics has followed the path forged by Dynon and Garmin by introducing its own non-TSO’d electronic flight instruments for owners of Part 23-certified airplanes. Aspen’s new Evolution E5 flight instrument, unveiled this spring, is essentially the same unit as the latest certified Aspen products but with features geared toward buyers looking to keep costs in check.

The Evolution E5 display consolidates traditional attitude indicator, directional gyro and course deviation indicator instruments into a single display that retails for just under $5,000. The E5 unit also includes global positioning system steering (GPSS) and air-data computer and attitude heading reference system (ADAHRS), as well as a backup battery. Aircraft owners can also upgrade to the Evolution E5 display and a compatible TruTrak Vizion autopilot for less than $10,000, Aspen says.

What we like best about the E5 6-inch active-matrix LCD is that it’s brighter and more vibrant than previous Evolution displays, while retaining Aspen’s ingenious form factor intended to keep installation costs down by slotting into the panel space of electro­mechanical attitude and heading indicators.

BendixKing’s AeroVue cockpit is the latest to receive FAA certification in the Beechcraft King Air 200, bringing “business jet technology and functionality” to the twin turboprop’s cockpit. We visited BendixKing’s test center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to put that claim to the test and came away impressed. The AeroVue cockpit for the King Air is a worthy competitor from a company that’s clearly focused on regaining a leadership position in the market.

The AeroVue integrated avionics package is similar in form and function to the Apex glass cockpit in the Pilatus PC-12 NG turboprop single, which pilots have been raving about since its introduction.

The AeroVue system incorporates three high-resolution 12-inch LCDs featuring Honeywell’s SmartView synthetic-vision system. AeroVue also includes a full flight management system and HUD-like symbology on the primary flight display. The flight deck includes an excellent cursor control device mounted on the center console next to an alphanumeric keypad.

Garmin’s G1000 NXi is a faster, modernized successor to the original G1000 cockpit now available in the King Air 200 and 300/350 models. Thanks to its improved computer processors, the system supports faster map rendering and smoother panning throughout the displays, which now initialize within seconds after start-up.

Garmin’s Connext wireless connectivity can optionally transfer aviation databases from the Garmin Pilot app on a mobile device to the G1000 NXi, as well as support two-way flight plan transfer, the sharing of traffic, weather, GPS information and backup attitude data with compatible mobile devices running Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight mobile.

G1000 NXi also supports geographical map overlays within the HSI of the PFD, as well as animated Nexrad graphics, FIS-B weather, weather radar, SafeTaxi airport diagrams, traffic and terrain information, and a whole lot more.

Sandel is attacking the King Air retrofit market with a retrofit cockpit called Avilon that is unusual for a few reasons, most notably its “guaranteed” installed price of $175,000, well below the price of cockpits from Garmin, Rockwell Collins and BendixKing.

The Avilon avionics system includes four large LCD flight displays, two smaller data-entry touchscreens, radios, flight management computers, dual AHRS, audio panel, ADS-B-compliant Mode S transponder, and flight director/autopilot (minus the autopilot servos, which are retained).

That’s a lot of features for not a lot of dough. The price is piquing the interest of King Air 200 owners who have been quoted prices of close to $100,000 just for the labor to install competing systems.

Sandel Avionics president and CEO Gerry Block explains that the installation cost is predicted to be so low because the entire Avilon instrument panel is shipped to dealers as essentially one piece.

The system is currently flying in a company King Air 200 certification test bed, with certification expected by this fall. Sandel says it has partnered with three dealers in the United States (Stevens Aviation, Cutter Aviation and Landmark Aviation) and one in Canada (Rocky Mountain Aircraft), which have all agreed to honor the guaranteed $175,000 fly-away price.

“There are a lot of King Air cockpit retrofit choices, but very few people have been buying them because they are just too expensive to justify,” Block says. “We think this price and the capability our cockpit offers will get a lot of King Air operators off the fence.”

The glass cockpit is one of those technological advancements that sneaks up on you. Many pilots treat the Garmin G1000 and other such systems as if they are some passing fad, even though they have been standard equipment on new airplanes for more than a decade. In fact, glass cockpits have been around longer than the iPhone, but while Apple’s smartphone is considered an essential part of daily life, Garmin’s avionics suite is viewed with suspicion by those who’ve never flown it.

Part of the reason glass cockpits are still relatively rare in general aviation is obviously cost – $30,000 is a lot to spend on avionics when the airplane is only worth $40,000. But that is beginning to change, with new products from Garmin and Dynon pushing the price down below $10,000. As this new generation of retrofit glass cockpits makes its way into the general aviation fleet, it’s a good time to elevate the discussion about the relative merits and safety record of such equipment. Right now, the subject is defined more by hangar flying wisdom than hard data.

For example, theoft-cited NTSB study showing that glass cockpit airplanes are no safer (and perhaps even less safe) than traditional analog cockpit airplanes is now more than ten years old. The accident rate for Cirrus Aircraft’s SR series, the most common glass cockpit airplanes, has changed dramatically in that time. By mostobjective measures, these technologically advanced airplanes now have a better safety record than the general aviation fleet average (see chart below). Such a trend doesn’t square with the idea that primary flight displays (PFDs) are bad for safety.

More importantly, hardly any of these safety studies control for exposure – the fact that higher priced, more capable airplanes are often flown on longer cross country trips and in worse weather. Quantifying this difference in exposure is difficult, but it’s likely that, compared to a steam gauge Cessna 150, the owner of a brand new Cessna 206 with a glass cockpit might fly the airplane more often, frequently single pilot, and in IMC. Without considering this critical difference, most of the accident rates are just statistical noise.

To get a feel for the accident trends, I read every Cirrus fatal accident report for three years before the Avidyne Entegra was introduced in 2003, then compared it to a three-year period after glass cockpits were standard. Again, the exposure is dramatically different (partially because Cirrus built a lot more airplanes between 2004 and 2007), so calculating a glass vs. steam accident rate is almost impossible, but the individual accidents still offer lots of lessons. Here’s a representative sample of NTSB probable causes before the introduction of glass cockpits: spatial disorientation, poor IFR technique on approach, VFR-into-IMC (more than one), stall/spin (one after takeoff on a hot day, one by a pilot very new to the airplane).

And after glass cockpits became the norm? The causes are depressingly similar: stall/spin, low pass leading to a stall, low level formation with glider in the mountains leading to controlled flight into terrain, in-flight icing, and of course VFR-into-IMC. Buzzing a friend at 50 feet or continuing into worsening weather are bad ideas no matter what the avionics – a fancy panel should neither tempt you to make these mistakes nor be expected to save you if you do.

I did the same exercise for Cessna 172s, where the G1000 became an option in 2005. Once again, glass cockpits have not invented new ways to crash airplanes: stalls and VFR-into-IMC were common causes. With one exception (a Cirrus crashed after the primary flight display failed and the pilot could not maintain control on the backup instruments), the move to digital flight instruments does seem to have slightly reduced the frequency of accidents caused by partial panel flying since there are no vacuum pumps to fail in a G1000.

As the avionics market evolves, another question becomes hard to answer: what is a glass cockpit, anyway? A steam gauge Cirrus with a large moving map, dual WAAS GPSs, TAWS, and an autopilot is pretty well equipped, but it’s not technically “glass.” Similarly, the Pilatus PC-12 began life with 4″ EFIS tubes for the attitude indicator and HSI, plus a GPS and autopilot; the latest models include a 4-screen, flat panel Honeywell Apex system. Is the old version “analog” simply because the airspeed indicator and altimeter are dials instead of screens? How about a 1965 Bonanza with a single screen Aspen Evolution display – is it a completely different airplane with the mechanical gyro replaced?

If all this discussion proves anything, it’s that we are overthinking the whole glass vs. analog issue. After all, glass cockpits were created to make flying easier and safer, not as some conspiracy to kill pilots. The changes simply aren’t that dramatic. The wings are the same on that Bonanza no matter what the avionics are, and so are the flight controls, approach speeds, fuel endurance, and stall characteristics.

Sure, there are large multi-function displays, but this is not really new – Garmin 530s were around for many years before the G1000, and early Cirrus models had a large Avidyne map screen without a PFD. Glass cockpits also have HSIs, but those have been around for decades (and are a major upgrade over precessing gyros anyway).

The key place to start is mindset: relax. It may be slightly intimidating the first time you sit in the left seat of a glass cockpit airplane, but that’s mostly because a big PFD can present much more information, including winds aloft, nearest airports, and the active flight plan. Remember that information is there to help, and you can turn most of it off if it’s distracting. In fact, you should probably start your glass cockpit flying with most of those extras turned off.

One criticism is valid: there isn’t a lot of “glance value” on an integrated glass cockpit. With a standard six pack, you can get a lot of information from the instruments without reading every specific number. If the airspeed indicator is pointing straight down and the altimeter is pointing straight up, you can assume that your airspeed is somewhere in the middle of the green arc and you’re level. Not so with a G1000 – you’ll be tempted to pause and read the exact numbers on the airspeed and altitude tapes.

Some will call this a fatal flaw, but to me it’s just a difference – one whose inconvenience is outweighed by some real benefits. If you find yourself chasing the tapes as they bounce around in flight, consider three more useful habits.

First, set the bugs on the primary flight display whenever possible. Most glass cockpits have knobs that allow the pilot to set bugs for the altitude and heading, and some even have one for the airspeed and vertical speed. These are used to drive the autopilot, but they can be great reminders for hand-flying too. If your clearance is to fly heading 270 and maintain 3,000 feet, set the bugs for those values and follow them. You’ll find it much easier to monitor heading and altitude by taking a quick glance at the bug than continuously reading the numbers on the screen.

Second, get to know how the trend lines work. These are usually magenta lines next to the tapes on the primary flight display, showing what the airspeed or altitude will be six seconds in the future. The taller the trend line, the faster the tapes will be moving, which is your clue that the airplane is not stabilized. This might be OK in a climb, but not if you’re trying to fly straight and level. Many HSIs also include a track vector, a little diamond above the HSI that shows the actual course your airplane is flying over the ground; match this to your desired course and keeping the needle centered becomes much easier. Again, the glance value is more important than the specific numbers here.

Finally, learn the most common profiles for the airplane you fly. For example, if you know that 1700 RPM and 10 degrees of flaps equals 90 knots and a 600 foot-per-minute descent, you can configure the airplane at the final approach fix and then make small adjustments to keep the needles centered. You’ll spend less time chasing tapes and adjusting power if you start out with a ballpark configuration.

Don’t make the mistake of treating all glass cockpits the same. They can vary significantly between manufacturers and even models, so you’ll want to spend some time reading the manual for the system you fly. In particular, focus on the different failure modes and the emergency checklists. For example, what does an AHRS failure look like compared to a screen failure? Are there backup options for the AHRS or the primary flight display? How long can the glass cockpit run on the backup battery? PFD failures are very rare, but a good pilot prepares for even the rare emergencies.

Understanding such nuances is especially important since not all glass cockpits are fully-integrated systems like the Garmin G1000. Many newer options, like the Garmin G5, replace a single instrument with a digital display. These hybrid glass-steam cockpits are more affordable than complete cockpits and more reliable than vacuum pumps, but it’s critical you understand which instruments are driven by which sensors.

Too many pilots exaggerate the difference between analog instruments and glass cockpits, as if it requires a completely new pilot certificate to make the transition. That’s simply not the case – the basics of flying are the same no matter what avionics you use. Focus on basic attitude flying, which, if anything, is easier on glass cockpits with their full-screen attitude display. And don’t forget to enjoy the view outside once in awhile.

Coming from an aviation family, John grew up in the back of small airplanes and learned to fly as a teenager. Ever since, he has been hooked on anything with wings and regularly flies a Citabria, a Pilatus PC-12, and a Cirrus SR22. He is an ATP and also holds ratings for multiengine, seaplanes, gliders, and helicopters. In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of Air Facts, John is the President of Sporty’s Pilot Shop, responsible for new product development and marketing.

This is a colloquial term for any color graphics display in a cockpit. Glass Cockpit Displays refers to any aircraft in which the primary instruments are located within a single primary flight display (PFD) or Multi-Function Display (MFD) that looks like a computer screen – a large, flat, glass-panel display. This term is well known but actually refers to the introduction of Flight Management Systems (FMS) in the 1970’s. Glass Cockpit Displays has largely replaced the numerous analogue instruments found in military and commercial aircraft. Glass cockpits usually display GPS navigation, GPWS, TCAS and weather information. The glass cockpit display can reflect different display styles.

Flat panel display research has comprised a substantial portion of the national investment in new technology for economic and national security for the past nine years. These investments have ben made principally via several Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programs, known collectively as the continuing High Definition Systems Program, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Production Act Title III Program. Using input from the Army, Navy, and Air Force to focus research and identify insertion opportunities, DARPA and the Title III Program Office have made investments to develop the national technology base and manufacturing infrastructure necessary to meet the twin challenge of providing affordable displays in current systems and enabling the DoD strategy of winning future conflicts by getting more information to all participants during the battle. These research programs are reviewed and opportunities for applications are described. Future technology development, transfer, and transition requirements are identified. Strategy and vision are documented to assist the identification of areas meriting further consideration.

A cockpit revolution is in the making. Many of the much ballyhooed, much promised, but little delivered technologies of the 70"s and 80"s will finally come of age in the 90"s just in time to complement the data explosion coming from sensor and processor advances. Technologies such as helmet systems, large flat panel displays, speech recognition, color graphics, decision aiding and stereopsis, are simultaneously reaching technology maturities that promise big payoffs for the third generation cockpit and beyond. The first generation cockpit used round dials to help the pilot keep the airplane flying right side up. The second generation cockpits used multifunction displays and the HUD to interface the pilot with sensors and weapons. What might the third generation cockpit look like. How might it integrate many of these technologies to simplify the pilots life and most of all: what is the payoff. This paper will examine tactical cockpit problems, the technologies needed to solve them and recommend three generations of solutions.

The success of the US display industry, both in providing high-performance displays for the US Department of Defense at reasonable cost and in capturing a significant share of the global civilian market, depends on maintaining technological leadership and on building efficient manufacturing capabilities. The US Display Consortium (USDC) was set up in 1993 by the US Government and private industry to guide the development of the infrastructure needed to support the manufacturing of flat panel displays. This mainly involves the supply of equipment and materials, but also includes the formation of partnerships and the training of a skilled labor force. Examples are given of successful development projects, some involving USDC participation, others through independent efforts of its member companies. These examples show that US-based companies can achieve leadership positions in this young and rapidly growing global market.

In an effort to raise the efficiency and speedup the rate of technology transfer from its university funded research programs, DARPA has ben encouraging the formation of industry/university teams to accelerate the development of backplane thin-film electronics for AMLCD displays. The effort among its university researchers has been carried forward through voluntary participation in a series of workshops cosponsored by DARPA and the Electric Power Research Institute. Evidence of the effectiveness of the teaming arrangement is shown by the many collaborations entered by the display industry participants.

This paper highlights some future cockpit drivers that will impact requirements for electronic display hardware. Drivers such as crew reduction, laser protection, real-time information in the cockpit, and uninhabited combat air vehicles will increase the demands on electronic display hardware. Regardless of new cockpit drivers, the primary feature of electronic displays that must be maintained is the capability to provide pilots with formats that will optimize their situation awareness. These formats place certain requirements on the display hardware itself.

It has often been assumed that the primary application of flat panel cockpit displays is in the presentation of computer generated data and "virtual" environments. However, technology developments in the field of panoramic and panospheric imaging are dramatically influencing the anticipated development path of cockpit displays. Panospheric imaging (PI) is a technology which allows a substantially spherical field-of-view to be captured, digitally processed, and presented to an observer in the form of a fully immersive, stereoscopic, perspective corrected image or true panoramic strip image in still and full motion formats. The exploitation of PI is currently being limited by inadequate displays. To date, available displays are incapable of competently presenting the cylindrical or spherical visual fields to an operator. Ongoing research and development programs at Defence Research Establishment Suffield have demonstrated the ability to effectively capture and process substantially spherical fields of view. Current research programs are focused on advancing PI technologies toward application in Armored Fighting Vehicles, unmanned systems, and other commercial sectors.

The National Research Council"s (NRC) Cockpit Technologies Program flight tested a stereoscopic 3D display format to determine the feasibility of using pictorial and stereoscopic cues during helicopter instrument approach procedures (IAP). Three qualified test pilots flew a series of approach procedures using a modified conventional electronic flight instrumentation format, a pictorial display formate, and a pictorial stereoscopic display format. The preliminary evaluation focused on the effect of display format on pilot performance during the approach task, from an approach intercept to the decision height. Performance criteria such as aircraft speed error, localizer error, and glide slope error were measured. Additionally, pilots answered a questionnaire on each display format, and rated the workload required to fly the approaches using the Cooper-Harper scale. Pilots were able to complete approaches to safe landings using any of the display formats. Pilots reported that the pictorial format improved their situation awareness during the approach. Pilots also reported that the stereo cues incorporated in the display design did not significantly enhance their ability to perform IAP. The pictorial display contained several strong monocular depth cues such as occlusion, linear perspective, and motion flow; therefore the stereo cues were of limited value. Pilots most preferred the conventional display, which provided the most accurate tracking capabilities and lowest workload. Pilots encountered a few acceptance problems with the stereo display, most notably, losing the stereo effect when viewing the prototype stereo display off the central viewing axis.

The CAVE is a multi-person, room-sized, high-resolution, 3D video and auditory environment, which can be used to present very immersive virtual environment experiences. This paper describes the CAVE technology and the capability of the CAVE system as originally developed at the Electronics Visualization Laboratory of the University of Illinois- Chicago and as more recently implemented by Wright State University (WSU) in the Armstrong Laboratory at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). One planned use of the WSU/WPAFB CAVE is research addressing the appropriate design of display and control interfaces for controlling uninhabited aerial vehicles. The WSU/WPAFB CAVE has a number of features that make it well-suited to this work: (1) 360 degrees surround, plus floor, high resolution visual displays, (2) virtual spatialized audio, (3) the ability to integrate real and virtual objects, and (4) rapid and flexible reconfiguration. However, even though the CAVE is likely to have broad utility for military applications, it does have certain limitations that may make it less well- suited to applications that require "natural" haptic feedback, vestibular stimulation, or an ability to interact with close detailed objects.

Smiths Industries is a world class supplier of multi-purpose color displays for severe environment fast-jet and rotary wing applications. In this paper we describe the technical issues, design techniques and qualification experience gained through replacing shadow-mask cathode ray tube with active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) devices in our 5 inch and 6 inch display products. The operational needs for primary flight/mission displays are reviewed from which display brightness, dimming range, contrast, viewing angle and resolution requirements are derived. These requirements when combined with the environment conditions found in a jet fighter cockpit challenge the display designer to find novel cost effective solutions. We shall discuss: the development of an AMLCD for severe environment applications; the development of a backlight to achieve long life, wide luminance range and compatibility with night vision imaging systems; mens to manage the local thermal environment of the AMLCD and the backlight. Practical realization of these solutions are demonstrated in our 5 inch and 6 inch multi- purpose color display products which have been qualified for flight in severe military environments. Operator and engineering evaluations have been made in representative lighting environments and through flight trials to compare the performance of AMLCD against our traditional "de-facto" standard CRT products.

The primary objective of the Rotorcraft pilot"s Associate (RPA) program is to enhance mission effectiveness of future combat helicopters through development and application of knowledge based associate systems for cognitive decision aiding. Enhanced mission capability is supported by an increase in pilot situational awareness made possible through the development of the associate and the integration of advanced sensors, controls, and displays. The crewstation display suite showcases ruggedized commercial of-the-shelf 12.1 inch diagonal, full color, 64 gray shade, XGA resolution AMLCDs. These multipurpose displays will be installed three abreast landscape style in the copilot gunner station of an AH-64D longbow apache helicopter for RPA system flight testing. The display program requirements and system architecture are outlined and discussed. The display unit subassembly details are provided with justification related to design level trade studies.

The No. 1 RAH-66 Comanche helicopter has been fitted with a dedicated multi-function cockpit instrumentation display system (CIDS) to provide real-time telemetry/instrumentation data to the flight test crew. In each crew station, the CIDS provides a color active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) video terminal, two color AMLCD graphics terminals, switches, and light emitting diode indicators as a complement to the "production". AMLCDs driven by the installed mission equipment package (MEP) avionics. The CIDS operates from the telemetry system"s airborne computer units which are independent of the MEP. The real-time telemetry and instrumentation information facilitates the flight test crew"s ability to diagnose flight anomalies and provides insight into the performance of numerous aircraft systems. The video terminal AMLCD supports the selection of multiple pages of information - customized instruments can be programmed overnight to support the next days tests. The CIDS additionally provides a backup "fly home" capability for the pilots should the MEP fail during flight tests. The CIDS has proven invaluable by providing the needed information to expedite performance of the flight test program.

The Abrams M1 Battlefield Tank has undergone several phases of performance enhancements since its introduction, improvements have covered updates to all the major components of the vehicle with major emphasis on the vetronics and man-machine interface. Through these enhancements of M1 has pioneered the utilization of flat panel display (FPD) technologies and the M1A2 version has an FPD at both the driver and gunner stations and a third at the commander position. These FPDs all employ electroluminescent (EL) imaging technology that is well suited for the severe vetronics environment. The latest M1A2 enhancements, being introduced as part of the M1A2 System Enhancement Package, include a flat panel AMLCD color tactical display which supersedes the earlier monochrome EL FPD used in this application, and a high resolution monochrome EL FPD for the second generation FLIR sensor, which supersedes the earlier bulky CRT display.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) deliver optimal performance when the entire display surface is isothermal and at a controllable temperature. This condition creates uniform electro-optical properties within the liquid crystal layer. This paper describes a dynamic, multicontact heater system that actively compensates for uneven heat loads, thereby creating the desired isothermal condition. The heater system includes a uniform resistive sheet, with multiple electrical contacts around the perimeter. A switch network connects each heater contact to a power supply, ground potential, or a high impedance. A microprocessor monitors the display temperature, and detects non-uniformity, and selectively applies heat to cold areas of the display. The dynamic heater system employs a variety of heating patterns to create the desired isothermal condition.Heating patterns vary in duration, power applied, and location on the display face. The microprocessor control loop can also detect and isolate faulty drive elements, and compensate for non- uniformity in the heater itself. The heater prevents stress- induced delaminations, mechanical distortions, and stress- induced birefringence in optical components. Test results indicate that a dynamic heater can be beneficial in the thermal design of LCD products.

Fluorescent backlights used for LCDs provide high efficacy, but at the expense of a strong temperature dependence and unusual electrical load parameters. The selection of drive regime and arc wave form can greatly affect the cathode life. Phosphor life has ben characterized as a function of wall loading and profile by others. The next cause of life reduction is cathode wear, which is addressed. A waveform is described that has been proven to provide long cathode life, both in the field and in ongoing life test. The fundamental tenant of minimizing the peak to RMS ration of the drive waveform has been applied. Additional cathode stress factors are identified, such as warm-up requirements, minimum temperature of operation and determining the critical value for cathode preheat. Types of filament preheat control are discussed, with the advantages and disadvantages of each presented. The second order effects of implementations are discussed. Summary data from an ongoing life test will be presented, indicating that with proper care and careful design, cathodes can easily achieve at least 75,000 hour life.

Polarizers have sensitivity to temperature and humidity combination. They are also sensitive to high doses of UV exposure. To guarantee a long life of a liquid crystal display the polarizers have either to be of special quality, or there should be special means to protect them. A study related to the long term stability have been conducted on several types of high efficiency iodine based polarizers. The test results and recommendations will be presented in this paper.

Liquid crystal displays have limitations of viewing angles. A loss of contrast and gray level inversion occur at wide angles. Use of retardation films drastically improves viewing envelops to have contrast ratios of greater than 10:1 at +/- 60 degrees horizontal and -5 degrees to +35 vertical. Data measured on few OIS wide viewing angles displays will be presented. Gray level separation and other related viewing angle issues will be discussed.

At the Cockpit Displays III conference, diffractive color separation was proposed as a means for improving both the performance and efficiency of liquid crystal displays. This paper discusses that approach in further detail as well as the progress made in attempting to develop the necessary technology. Specifically, progress has been made on two fronts: the development of the color separation element and the development of a low divergence backlight suitable for avionics direct view applications. The approach taken in these two developments is described as well as the current state of the development.

Active matrix displays that are lightweight, rugged and bendable are a key DoD need for applications ranging from panoramic displays for aircraft cockpits to foldable maps. To achieve such displays compatible substrates, TFT backplanes, and light valve/light emissive materials systems must be developed. Advances toward this goal achieved in the joint Penn State/Princeton Display Program are discussed.

The first monochrome, high resolution reflective 1/8 VGA liquid crystal displays have been built using various plastic substrates for body mounted and hand held applications. These displays have a contrast ratio of over 10:1 with a wide viewing angle. The reflectivity is about 40 percent and the frame update time is less than 2 seconds.

Field emission displays (FEDs) are being developed for a number of applications including military and commercial aircraft cockpit displays. This new type of display promises sunlight readability, high power efficiency, full color, high contrast, wide-angle viewing with no change in contrast or color as a function of angle, large dynamic range of light output including god dimmability, fast refresh, very high spatial resolution, and high pixel count in a window- pane thin package which has a viewing area which is from very small to very large.

This paper addresses the requirements for the design of a field emissive display for cockpit applications as well the results of preliminary performance evaluation from optical, electrical and environmental standpoints. The design requirements and the specific characteristics of a field emissive display are first reviewed prior to discussing the design rationale. The test setups used for the preliminary performance evaluation and the first test results are presented and reviewed.

The all solid state nature of thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) displays provides the technology with the resistance to the extreme environmental stresses which are required of displays to meet the military"s requirements. Because of their rugged nature over 30,000 TFEL displays are in use in military applications in aircraft cockpits, army vehicles, naval ships, and man portable applications. Recent advances in the technology have enabled TFEL displays to meet requirements for multicolor, gray scale and high resolution wearable displays. This talk will give a general overview of the technology capabilities and the many military applications for TFEL displays.

We review recent progress in small molecule organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) with emphasis on their potential application to lightweight, head-up displays. We discuss OLEDs grown on thin, flexible, plastic substrates which may be bent over a radius of curvature of as little as 0.7 cm without damage and exhibit operating voltages and efficiencies similar to OLEDs grown on conventional glass substrates. Transparent OLEDs grown on such substrates create the potential for a new type of lightweight, full- color, OLED pixel in which the R, G and B emission layers are vertically stacked to provide a simple fabrication process, minimum pixel size, and maximum fill factor.

Organic light emitting diodes are a new flat panel display technology that offers high luminescent efficiencies. In this paper, with aspects of this new technology are reviewed and the limitations of the currently used passive matrix addressing are identified. New active matrix addressed organic light emitting diode displays are proposed that are based on the polysilicon TFT technology. Different polysilicon TFT active matrix pixel structures for OLED applications are described and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The characteristics of fabricated polysilicon TFT arrays for driving OLED are presented.

In this paper we will outline the theoretical and practical advantages of projection displays based on resonant microcavities. We will present results recently obtained for Eu:Y2O3 activated microcavities, compare them with theoretical models and discuss the impact of such devices. The extension to other optical systems will also be discussed.

Since the advent of radar in the 1940"s there has been an increasing number os systems requiring the display of information to various levels of the military command structure. However, display technology has been a limiting factor in designing military systems. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are sensitive to vibration, are affected by the earth"s magnetic field, require high voltage, emit RF signals, and are bulky and heavy. The military has been the foremost funding sources of display technology development here in the US. With the development of flat panel display technologies the military has finally been able to incorporate displays in field portable equipment, however these displays have limitations in brightness, ruggedness, and other factors that are problems in several key applications. One of these issues is the size limitation of flat panel displays. One of the compensating approaches taking a leap forward in application is the use of flat panel displays in projection systems. This paper will review the tradeoffs in these projectors, the interaction between sub-system component groups, design issues affecting ruggedness, and the performance of the final projector. In addition, a discussion is included on the impact of ambient light on the applicability of front and rear projection systems.

Industrial, consumer and military requirements for high resolution large screen data displays are taxing the capabilities of current display technologies,, such as cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal devices, digital mirror devices and plasma. Solid state laser projection provides a variety of advantages when used in displays with more than 1000 lines of resolution and measuring over 40 to 300 inches diagonally. Solid state laser technology can provide the best image quality in a compact package.

The polyplanar optical display (POD) is a unique display screen which can be used with any projection source. The prototype ten inch display is two inches thick and has a matte black face which allows for high contrast images. The prototype being developed is a form, fit and functional replacement display for the B-52 aircraft which uses a monochrome ten-inch display. In order to achieve a long lifetime, the new display uses a 100 milliwatt green solid- state laser at 532 nm as its light source. To produce real- time video, the laser light is being modulated by a digital light processing (DLP) chip manufactured by Texas Instruments. In order to use the solid-state laser as the light source and also fit within the constraints of the B-52 display, the digital micromirror device (DMD) circuit board is removed from the Texas Instruments DLP light engine assembly. Due to the compact architecture of the projection system within the display chassis, the DMD chip is operated remotely from the Texas Instruments circuit board. We discuss the operation of the DMD divorced from the light engine and the interfacing of the DMD board with various video formats including the format specific to the B-52 aircraft. A brief discussion of the electronics required to drive the laser is also presented.

Physical Optics Corporation (POC) has developed novel high- gain holographic non-Lambertian (HNL) screens for high- resolution flat panel displays, cockpit displays, and other military and commercial screen applications. These HNLs are composite holographic components that combine both diffusive and diffractive functions in a single element. These screens can control light energy distribution within a desired elliptical or circular cone and direction. As a result, the contrast and luminance of screens can be increased 10 times without any degradation in resolution. POCs HNL screens do not introduce any of the interference "Moire" fringing that hinders the performance of lenticular screens. Additionally, the graded index properties of HNL screens eliminate all back-scattering losses, which in current scatterers are as high as 50 percent.

Head-up displays (HUD) have long been used to provide pilots of military combat aircraft with information essential for the accurate aiming of weapons. By making use of evolving technologies designers have, over the years, increased the usefulness of these displays. The most modern examples of this type of display are now capable of displaying simultaneously large amounts of information including weapons release information, primary flying references, and images from sensors. The HUD is now accepted as a primary flight reference. Information and images are projected onto the combiner glass in a way that makes it unnecessary for the pilot to look away from the outside scene and re-focus on a head down display. HUDs are also viewable under all ambient lighting conditions. While the military has long used these displays, a growing number of commercial aviation managers have begun to consider the real benefits of adopting this technology. The availability of cheaper, lighter, smaller and more reliable HUDs would increase the potential market for these useful systems which can enhance safety during landing and take-off phases of flight. This paper explains the need and opportunities for the future improvement of HUDs by the insertion of advanced display technologies.

The Air Force KC-135, Navy P-3, and Army MH-60 aircraft are in the process of upgrading their electromechanical instruments with active matrix liquid crystal multifunction displays. These multifunction display products provide improved reliability and also provide added functionality to present multiple instruments, weather radar, and system status information. The flexibility of these systems also provides backup for flight critical instruments. This paper will present display performance aspects including luminance, chromaticity, contrast, display formats, the results of bench testing, and flight testing.

Four operator displays are being integrated into the US Navy multi-mission helicopter, SH-60R with a planned initial operating capability date of 2001. These active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs), one 10.4 inch display used in three locations in the cockpit, and one 16 inch display used in the cabin, have moved from development status to avionics lab integration and preliminary flight testing. This paper presents the general approach taken to develop, evaluated, integrate, and test the AMLCD displays in the avionics system.

This paper addresses the automotive and avionics application of cathode-ray (CRTs). Some discussion of the key attributes of displays is included. Examples of the different types of high information content displays are discussed. Automotive and avionics environments are briefly addressed. Typical CRTs and their subsystems are addressed as well as the demands that avionics environment and automotive environment contribute to a design/use trade-off analysis. The disadvantages and advantages of CRT technology in general are addressed as well as some example applications being offered in aviation and automotive vehicles.

DoD"s armed services each have many uses for maps and charts. Paper products have long been sued for planning, navigation, and tactical situation assessment. As useful as paper products are, today"s sa