Looking through some of the aviation magazines around I've noticed a lot more of the smaller planes are now fitted with modern glass cockpits.Has anyone looked at making some of these glass cockpits for existing planes?

I believe there's a topic on this subject that started a few weeks ago, it should have all kinds of answers in it by now. I'm personally am not fond of the new glass cockpits (not fond of them in the real world. One electrical failure and you're now down to an attitude indicator, altimeter, and airspeed indicator.) so I didn't follow it.----------------------------------------------------------------John MorganReal World: KGEG, UND Aerospace Spokane Satillite, Private ASEL 141.2 hrs, 314 landings, 46 inst. apprs.Virtual: MSFS 2004"There is a feeling about an airport that no other piece of ground can have. No matter what the name of the country on whose land it lies, an airport is a place you can see and touch that leads to a reality that can only be thought and felt." - The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story by Richard Bach

The one in the Cirrus SR-22 is incredible - as sophisticated as many modern airliners. I think Eaglesoft took over the development of that panel for FS2004 - hope it's eventually released with a high degree of fidelity compared to the real thing...

>Looking through some of the aviation magazines around I've>noticed a lot more of the smaller planes are now fitted with>modern glass cockpits.>>Has anyone looked at making some of these glass cockpits for>existing planes?>Answer: a qualified yes. If you look in the library for Panels you'll find a number of files which may help you. There are even a few generic glass panels for you to install. :D

>I believe there's a topic on this subject that started a few>weeks ago, it should have all kinds of answers in it by now.>I'm personally am not fond of the new glass cockpits (not fond>of them in the real world. One electrical failure and you're>now down to an attitude indicator, altimeter, and airspeed>indicator.) so I didn't follow it.>I built an airplane full of "steam gauges" in the panel, that really makes one (to a non-pilot)look smart to know what they all are. But then I was able to try out a Garmin 1000 glass panel in a 182, and then flew a Van's RV9A kitbuilt for 25.5 hours of cross country with a lot of glass panel type instruments in the cockpit.Now, I'm a glass panel believer, and would not hesitate to have this type of setup. You can have backup alternators, backup batteries, multiple electrical busses, as well as handheld nav/comms & GPS's for additional backup. An advantage is doing away with the vacuum pump setup altogether. BTW--- with a backup GPS ( I use the Garmin 296 color moving map), you'll certainly not feel lost, should the primary panels fail.Pics: 182, my panel (Van's RV6A)L.Adamson