"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

"Vaughn" wrote in message
...

"Steelgtr62" wrote in message
...

Disruptive technologies, on the other hand, are usually simpler and
cheaper
than the sustaining technology, but also offer less capability. They
do
not
fit
the sustaining market and, typically, provide lower profit margins.
For
this
reason, they are usually shunned by well-managed companies - which are
often
later destroyed by them.

While the start of this thread is obviously a spam, I think that we
are
finally seeing some disruptive technology in the GA field. In
particular,
flat-panel displays. These will probably dominate the new aircraft
market
in
the next few years and will certainly push down into the retrofit market
as
certification issues are gradually resolved. They are already appearing
in the
homebuilt market.

My personal opinion is that these systems are unlikely to last as
long as
the airframe in which they are installed, but given their relative cost,
ease of
replacement, and the continuous improvement in their capability, we may
be
able
to live with that.

The flat panel displays are likely to last much longer than the items they
replace, however. They are solid state, all electric, have few or no
moving
parts, etc. Compare that with traditional attitude indicators, heading
indicators, and turn and bank coordinators. All of these generally require
replacement every few hundred hours, along with vacuum pumps, hoses,
clamps,
etc.



I still have an IBM PC XT that works as well as the day it was bought back
in 1985. It just doesn't do anything useful in today's world. I expect the
"glass cockpits" to be the same. The big power hungry LCD screens will
quickly give way to much lighter and brighter OLED screens and enough
additional useful features will be added to make the old systems obsolete
even if they still work.

I expect to see very light weight glass cockpits installed in Sport Light
Aircraft that would look at home in a 777. If I had an opportunity to buy a
tiny, fast single seater with a 100 HP diesel that was fully IFR capable,
I'd jump at it.