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{{short description|Aircraft instrumentation system consisting primarily of multi-function electronic displays}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2011}}
[[File:AirBaltic Bombardier CS300 launch event (31581897816).jpg|thumb|Simplified glass cockpit of an [[Airbus A220]], featuring unified LCD screens for both pilots to reduce pilot [[workload]]]]
A '''glass cockpit''' is an [[aircraft cockpit]] that features an array of electronic (digital) [[flight instrument]] [[display device|displays]], typically large [[liquid-crystal display|LCD]] screens, rather than traditional  [[Analog device|analog]] dials and gauges.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zwmJI0I3qCMC |page=21 |title=Aircraft Instrumentation and Systems |author=S. Nagabhushana, L. K. Sudha |publisher=I. K. International |year=2010 |location=New Delhi |isbn=9789380578354 |access-date=2020-05-10 |archive-date=2024-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229054239/https://books.google.com/books?id=zwmJI0I3qCMC |url-status=live }}</ref> While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mechanical gauges (nicknamed "steam gauges") to display information, a glass cockpit uses several [[multi-function display]]s and a [[primary flight display]] driven by [[flight management system]]s, that can be adjusted to show flight information as needed. This simplifies aircraft operation and navigation and allows [[aviator|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{{when|date=February 2021}} years the technology has also become widely available in small aircraft.

As aircraft displays have modernized, the sensors that feed them have modernized as well. Traditional [[gyroscope|gyroscopic]] [[flight instrument]]s have been replaced by electronic [[attitude and heading reference system]]s (AHRS) and [[air data computer]]s (ADCs), improving reliability and reducing cost and maintenance. [[GPS]] receivers are usually integrated into glass cockpits.[[File:Airbus A380 cockpit.jpg|thumb|[[Airbus A380]] glass cockpit featuring "pull out keyboards and two wide computer screens on the sides for pilots"<ref name="Chui" />]]

Early glass cockpits, found in the [[McDonnell Douglas MD-80]], [[Boeing 737 Classic]], [[ATR 42]], [[ATR 72]] and in the Airbus [[Airbus A300|A300-600]] and [[Airbus A310|A310]], used [[electronic flight instrument system]]s (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 [[Boeing 767|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 [[Boeing 737 Next Generation|737NG]], [[Boeing 747-400|747-400]], [[Boeing 767|767-400]], [[Boeing 777|777]], [[Airbus A320 family|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 [[altimeter]]s, [[Attitude indicator|attitude]], and [[airspeed indicator]]s 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]].

== History ==
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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 to 1973), 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.<ref name="Wallace" /> As a result, [[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]], [[Boeing 777|777]], [[Boeing 717|717]], [[Boeing 747-400|747-400ER]], [[Boeing 747-8I|747-8F]] [[Boeing 767|767-400ER]], [[Boeing 747-8|747-8]], and [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner|787]], [[Airbus A320 family]] (later versions), [[Airbus A330|A330]] (later versions), [[Airbus A340|A340-500/600]], [[Airbus A340|A340-300]] (later versions), [[Airbus A380|A380]] and [[Airbus A350|A350]] are fitted with glass cockpits consisting of LCD units.<ref name="A320" />

[[File:SR22TN Perspective Cockpit.jpg|thumb|Glass cockpit in a [[Cirrus SR22]]. Note the three analog [[Cockpit#Back-up instruments|standby instruments]] near the bottom of the main instrument panel]]
The glass cockpit has become standard equipment in [[airliner]]s, [[business jets]], and [[military aircraft]]. It was fitted into NASA's [[Space Shuttle]] orbiters [[Space Shuttle Atlantis|''Atlantis'']], [[Space Shuttle Columbia|''Columbia'']], [[Space Shuttle Discovery|''Discovery'']], and [[Space Shuttle Endeavour|''Endeavour'']], and the Russian [[Soyuz spacecraft|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 [[Cirrus SR20|SR20]] and [[Cirrus SR22|SR22]] became the first [[light aircraft]] equipped with glass cockpits, which they made standard on all Cirrus aircraft. By [[2005 in aviation|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.

== Uses ==

=== Commercial aviation ===
[[File:15-07-14-Suchoj-Superjet-100-RalfR-WMA 0547-0550.jpg|thumb|[[Sukhoi Superjet 100]] 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 system]]s (SVS) or [[enhanced flight vision system]]s (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.

All new airliners such as the [[Airbus A380]], [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner|Boeing 787]] and private jets such as [[Bombardier Global Express]] and [[Learjet]] use glass cockpits.

=== General aviation ===
[[File:Cessna T182T Cockpit - Garmin G1000.jpg|thumb|Glass cockpit in a [[Cessna 182]]]]

Many modern [[general aviation]] (GA) 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]] and more modern [[Cirrus SR22]]. 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 Falcon]]s, [[Hawker Beechcraft#Products|Raytheon Hawkers]], [[Bombardier Challenger]]s, [[Cessna Citation family|Cessna Citations]], [[Gulfstream Aerospace#Products|Gulfstreams]], [[Beechcraft King Air|King Airs]], [[Learjet#Aircraft|Learjets]], [[IAI Astra|Astras]], and many others. Aviation service companies work closely with equipment manufacturers to address the needs of the owners of these aircraft.

=== Consumer, research, hobby, and recreational aviation ===

Today, [[smartphone]]s and tablets use apps to remotely control complex devices, e.g. by [[Wi-Fi]] radio interface, demonstrating how the "glass cockpit" idea can be applied to consumer devices. Applications include toy-grade [[UAV]]s which use the display and touch screen to employ every aspect of the "glass cockpit" for instrument display, and [[fly-by-wire]] for aircraft control.

=== Spaceflight ===
[[File:STSCPanel.jpg|thumb|The [[Space Shuttle]] glass cockpit]]

The glass cockpit idea made news in 1980s trade magazines, like ''[[Aviation Week & Space Technology]]'', when NASA announced that it would be replacing most of the electro-mechanical flight instruments in the space shuttles with glass cockpit components. The articles mentioned how glass cockpit components had the added benefit of being a few hundred pounds lighter than the original flight instruments and support systems used in the Space Shuttles. The {{OV|104}} was the first orbiter to be retrofitted with a glass cockpit in 2000 with the launch of [[STS-101]]. ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'' was the second orbiter with a glass cockpit on [[STS-109]] in 2002, followed by ''[[Space Shuttle Discovery|Discovery]]'' in 2005 with [[STS-114]], and ''[[Space Shuttle Endeavour|Endeavour]]'' in 2007 with [[STS-118]].

NASA's [[Orion spacecraft]] will use glass cockpits derived from [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner]].<ref name="orion">{{cite web |title=Orion: Next Generation Spacecraft |publisher=[[NASA]] |date=2010-10-25 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/491544main_orion_book_web.pdf |access-date=2022-04-19 |archive-date=2021-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119231225/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/491544main_orion_book_web.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Safety ==

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.<ref name="NTSB A08-53" />

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 ([[Traffic collision avoidance system|TCAS]]), and attitude indicators.<ref name="United 731" /> The pilots were able to land at Newark Airport without radio contact in good weather and daylight conditions.

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.<ref name="allthingsaviation" />{{Dubious|reason=decade old|date=April 2022}} A preliminary NTSB factsheet is available.<ref name="NTSB A08-56" /> Due to the possibility of a blackout, glass cockpit aircraft also have an [[integrated standby instrument system]] that includes (at a minimum) an [[artificial horizon]], [[altimeter]] and [[airspeed indicator]]. It is [[Electronics|electronically]] separate from the main instruments and can run for several hours on a backup battery.

In 2010, the [[National Transportation Safety Board|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.<ref name="NTSB A08-56" /> The NTSB Chairman said in response to the study:<ref name="NTSB Safety" />

{{blockquote|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.}}

== See also ==

* [[Cockpit display system]]
* [[Primary flight display]]
* [[Electronic flight instrument system]]
* [[ARINC 661]]
* [[Electronic instrument cluster]]
* [[Head-up display]]
* [[Information overload]]

== References ==

<references>
<ref name="Chui">{{cite web|first=Sam | last = Chui |url=http://samchuiphotos.com/A380Sydney/A380_Australia_visit_November_2005.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107042658/http://samchuiphotos.com/A380Sydney/A380_Australia_visit_November_2005.html |archive-date=2010-11-07 |url-status=dead |title=A380 Australia visit November 2005 |publisher=Samchuiphotos.com |access-date=2009-08-12}}</ref>
<ref name="Wallace">{{cite web|last=Wallace|first=Lane|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Glasscockpit.html|title=Airborne Trailblazer: Two Decades with NASA Langley's 737 Flying Laboratory|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=2012-04-22|quote=''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.''|archive-date=2017-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623081711/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Glasscockpit.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="A320">{{cite web|url=http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a320/flight_deck.html |title=A320 flight deck |publisher=airbus.com |access-date=2009-08-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080822221052/http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a320/flight_deck.html |archive-date = August 22, 2008}}</ref>
<ref name="United 731">{{cite news |last=Porter |first=David |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/airbus-a320s-suffer-cockpit-power-failure-await-fixes/ |title=Airbus A320s suffer cockpit power failure, await fixes |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |access-date=2022-04-19 |archive-date=2024-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229054330/https://www.seattletimes.com/business/airbus-a320s-suffer-cockpit-power-failure-await-fixes/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="NTSB A08-53">{{cite web |url= https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A08_53_55.pdf |publisher= National Transportation Safety Board |title= Safety Recommendation A08-53 |date= 2008-07-22 |quote= 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. |page= 2 |access-date= 2022-04-19 |archive-date= 2017-02-10 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170210042527/https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/RecLetters/A08_53_55.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>
<ref name="allthingsaviation">{{cite web |publisher=All Things Aviation |url=http://all-things-aviation.com/uncategorized/blackouts-in-the-cockpit/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116161232/http://all-things-aviation.com/uncategorized/blackouts-in-the-cockpit/ |archive-date=January 16, 2010 |title=Blackouts In The Cockpit |url-status=dead |access-date=August 30, 2016 }}</ref>
<ref name="NTSB A08-56">{{cite web |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A08_56_58.pdf |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |title=Safety Recommendation A08-56 |date=2008-01-25 |access-date=2022-04-19 |archive-date=2023-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816150608/https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A08_56_58.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="NTSB Safety">{{cite web |title=Forum: NTSB Study Shows Introduction Of 'Glass Cockpits' In General Aviation Airplanes Has Not Led To Expected Safety Improvements |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/NTSB_Study_2010_Glass_Cockpits.aspx |website=National Transportation Safety Board |access-date=14 December 2021 |date=9 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828004157/https://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/Pages/NTSB_Study_2010_Glass_Cockpits.aspx |archive-date=28 August 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
</references>

== Further reading ==
* {{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/less-more-merit-cockpit-minimalism |title= Less Is More: Merit In Cockpit Minimalism |date= Mar 23, 2017 |author= Fred George |work= Business & Commercial Aviation |publisher= Aviation Week Network}}

{{Commons category|Glass cockpits}}

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[[Category:Glass cockpit| ]]
[[Category:Aircraft instruments]]
[[Category:Display technology]]
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