Glass Cockpit

What Is a Glass Cockpit?

A glass cockpit is a flight deck in which traditional electromechanical analog flight instruments — the altimeter, airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, vertical speed indicator, heading indicator, and navigation displays — are replaced by large multifunction liquid crystal or OLED screens. These displays can reconfigure to show any combination of flight data, system synoptics, moving maps, weather radar overlays, and traffic information, dramatically reducing cockpit clutter and pilot workload.

How It Works

The core of a glass cockpit is the Primary Flight Display (PFD) and Navigation Display (ND) — or a combined Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS). Data flows from:

• Air Data Computers (ADC): Airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, Mach number from pitot-static system
• Inertial Reference Systems (IRS): Attitude, heading, acceleration, ground speed
• GPS/FMS: Position and flight plan data overlaid on the moving map ND
• Engine/systems data: Displayed on Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) or Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitoring (ECAM) displays

The PFD integrates what once required six separate instruments into a single intuitive display. The ND overlays flight plan route, weather radar returns, TCAS traffic, and terrain. Pilots interact with display modes through dedicated control panels. Integration with the FMS and autopilot provides a fully coupled flight management environment, and a HUD can mirror PFD data into the pilot's forward view.

Evolution and Modern Systems

The Boeing 767 (1982) and Airbus A310 introduced early EFIS displays. The Airbus A320 (1988) introduced a full glass cockpit with sidestick and fly-by-wire. The Boeing 777 (1995) brought the world's first fully digital, triple-redundant glass cockpit. Today's A350 and 787 feature large-format displays (up to 15 inches), touchscreen CDUs, and synthetic vision systems that display terrain and runway in 3D even in zero-visibility conditions. General aviation glass cockpits — Garmin G1000, Avidyne Entegra — have become standard in new training and personal aircraft.

Regulatory Requirements

Display systems must meet RTCA DO-178C (software) and DO-254 (hardware) standards. Minimum display performance standards are specified in FAA TSO-C113b and EASA ETSO-C113b. Redundancy is required: at least one standby attitude indicator (often an ISIS — Integrated Standby Instrument System) must remain operational on battery power if all electronic displays fail. Type certification requires demonstration of readability under all lighting conditions including direct sunlight.