wrote:
I just wondered which kinds of digital meters, electric analog or
numeric meter, do pilot can accept. Or we can accept an electric analog
meter with digital number in it?

Several responders have pointed out the superior visual cue that an
analog meter makes over a digital read-out, which I completely agree
with.

However, I do think that glass cockpits are not used enough. As an
electrical/software engineer, I know that it is possible to pack every
function of every glass cockpit ever created into one computer costing
less than $1000US, but no one has done this yes. I think the reason has
more to do with knowledge domain than anything else.

The cost savings of having a commoditized machine control and monitor
your plane would simply be enormous. The reduction in weight alone
from eliminating the mechanical controls would be worth the change.
But of course, there are so many more things that you can do with
software that you simply can't do with mechanical controls. I saw a
show recently where stealth pilots were acknowledging this fact, as if
it were not obvious that computer can do things that a human simply
cannot.

I'm waiting for the day when someone gets rid of all these mechanical
controls and run every thing with disposable, off-the-shelf, sensors
and controls that connect to a (fail-safed) CPU that controls every
thing, with 500GB of songs and videos on board, measurements of all
kinds, 3-D render of atmosphere, maps, climate control, lighting,
auto-pilot, software radios, monitoring systems (to make sure I'm
awake), web cam, whatever...

It's not like the eqipment to do this today does not already exist.

-Le Chaud Lapin-