Ep. 242: Glass Cockpit Vs. Steam Gauge | What's Better?

[@mollymalone4794]

While training for my private, I moved from a glass cockpit to steam and it was quite a learning curve. I'm now training for my instrument (in steam). I'm kinda glad because I feel understanding is more deeply ingrained. That said, my goal is to get back to a glass cockpit with it's vastly superior solid state instruments. Vacuum pumps suck! (Bah rump bump...)

[@Aero360Aviation]

I really thought this was a cool comparison with the split screen and eye movements!

[@Davy1288]

To be honest with you.. I would prefer to learn on 'steam' gauges... and then switch to glass. I may be a millennial but there is something about old school you can't beat when it comes to aviation.

[@christopherculvey3391]

Agreed

[@turbofan450]

I prefer the "steam" gauges. Simply because you can get info from them at a glance. Say, if the airspeed needle is pointed down, you'd know what speed that was without actually having to see the number (if, of course you're familiar with that particular airspeed indicator). You just can't have that with glass. However, glass is better in terms of reliability Wont get a stuck or broken needle with glass. Why doesn't someone just develop a large glass screen that displays the six pack instruments as if they were good ole steam gauges? Best of both worlds.

[@AliBaba-vw7mo]

turbofan450 agreed

[@e36s50b30]

Exactly the same here, too. I am currently in the decision phase whether to opt for glass or steam. I think that a mixture of both might be the best for me.

[@Dkfrmt69420]

At first, learning to fly instruments with glass was quite challenging, the data is presented in its rawest form, so you constantly have to interpret the numbers. After a while tho it becomes second nature, just like reading analog instruments. I find that my flying is a lot more precise on glass too, 50ft looks huge on a G1000 display for example. Another interesting thing is how numbers tend to jump all over the places in turbulence. Steam gauges usually lag a bit more and give you the feeling of a smoother ride.

[@roydoggy]

I’d rather own a glass cockpit because of that resale value. Instrument flying is much nicer with glass but I prefer steam when I’m doing commercial maneuvers

[@UguBar]

Definitely steam If you are a student and switch to glass once you get your license and ratings!

[@meridianpilot9813]

By far glass was easier on my eyes. Just flew 5.5 imc from Texas to Clearwater, FL. I was not nearly as fatigued as steam gauge cockpit.

[@topofthegreen]

If you are not proficient in steam gauges, good luck getting a job anywhere.

[@Hedgeflexlfz]

Yep

[@MartinHenne]

For airspeed and height I'd prefer steam. For attitude indicator, glass seems better to me, but never had an oportunity to try it out. There's much more information available on a smaller area with glass, but I just dont like the screens from an aesthetic point of view. personal preference of course.... And, btw: it IS click bait.

[@kiltedpiper98]

Great comparison. Clearly glass cockpit has a less intense scan. But $$$.

[@robertanderson4248]

which is least likely to fail?

[@nrawal]

Glass!

[@Pushyhog]

Steam all the way.

[@chuckmartin5773]

I like the ol reliable steam gauges personally, but have never flown the glass. Watching the video, sure looks like less fatigue on the eyes? Thanks

[@DickeyHepSleeve]

To me, the more eye movement keeps you more alert. The eye movement in the glass panel looks like he's ready to fall asleep.

[@Rockethurst]

I personally prefer steam…….end of story. 👍🇦🇺

[@scottfranco1962]

Ummm, this is just an ad....

[@fly8ma.comflighttraining199]

Umm, I think you might have missed the point of the video, one is really good for training, one is really good for SA and keeping you safe after training! :)

[@scottfranco1962]

No, don't think I did. 2.33 minutes of discussion about "go see my online course", virtually nothing on the subject at hand. Dude I like your videos, but don't know what you were trying to accomplish here.

[@garywheeler2055]

Ummm, They have a service to teach people to fly....if I was an American I would go to them in a heartbeat, it’s a great series of videos they offer! They do a great job!!!! Keep up the great videos !

[@vadermike7772]

Scott Franco scott, you missed the entire point! Take a look at the eyeballs during the scans. That's the point that he's making. the scans for glass, require far less eyeball movement than six pack. And even if this video had a of been an advertisement for ground school, which it wasn't, his online Ground School, much like his other videos, are absolutely fantastic.

[@scottfranco1962]

And now you are piling on without even really reading what I wrote. I like FLY8MA's channel. I don't even care that he is promoting his online course, or whether it is free or paid. But this video is clickbait to get people to sign up to the online course and does not do what the title says, which is, and I QUOTE: Glass Cockpit Vs. Steam Gauge | What's Better? Sorry, it just does not do that (answer the question). Its an ad for the online course. PS. "I think you missed the point" in real English means "you are an idiot".

[@nieves9306]

True on glass but studies show that too much eye on glass screens can cause drowsiness..

[@Aphorism89]

you are not going to be working on a screen when you fly... Those studies are targeted at people who might be 8+ hours in a screen, doing intensive focused work or relaxed activities.. still, "living" on the monitor.

[@Zalaniar]

Ok I've gotta get this off my chest cuz it's been building up for a while. You say a lot of things in your videos that go against established tried and true facts. I feel like you have this attitude in your videos that what you're doing is right and what everyone else does is wrong, even though in many cases the opposite is true. I've been subbed for a long time because I enjoyed some of the videos where those issues weren't as bad. But honestly, those are just my thoughts. The real reason I'm unsubbing is because you have the audacity to bash someone who makes FAR better content, has FAR better credibility and credits, and knows his stuff FAR better than you. To be honest it wouldn't even matter if the "other guy" you were talking about was a terrible content creator or instructor. You bashing someone else's content like that just to try and make a sale is pathetic and makes you look like an ass.

[@topofthegreen]

Glass makes you lazy, real pilots fly steam steam, entry level jobs are all steam, steam will be around for years, it’s not going away.

[@TheBullethead]

Well, if you want to be like that, you could go further and say that REAL pilots flew with what few instruments existed before the invention of gyros, or even pitot-static systems. Most engine-related things were the same but for flight instruments, perhaps their ASI was a wind-pushed vane on a wing strut, and their turn coordinator was a piece of string glued at the lower end to the windshield, with no altimeter, VSI, or attitude indicators. Gyro-driven and pitot-static steam gauges make you lazy :D. Seriously, the glass has the exact same 6-pack as the steam gauges (plus a few helpful extras like rate bars, a moving map, etc.), they're just all superimposed in the same place so you can scan several simultaneously and don't have to look nearly as far away to see the others. So from a user-friendliness perspective, glass is clearly superior to steam, just as steam was clearly superior to the nothing that came before it. Glass simply makes it easier and faster to do the same scan as with steam, plus gives you even more info while you're doing it. All good. The biggest issue is what happens when you have gremlins. Glass, having way fewer moving parts, is more mechanically reliable than steam and both are equally affected by loss of pitot-static. But if you have a major electrical problem but pitot-static is still good, you can lose ALL the glass while the steam gauges are still working (although you might have to hold a flashlight in your mouth to read them). So, they compliment each other as they have different failure causes, so it's nice to have both. Thus, I agree that steam gauges are NOT going away, although I think it's more likely for them to fail than the glass.

[@robertdancho9671]

TheBullethead agree

[@Aphorism89]

Steam has already gone away, it´s basically old planes still using it and a lot of people throw in a G1000 as soon as they can on their old plane.

[@topofthegreen]

This is great till it fails.

[@ncaviationfilms]

I definitely much prefer Glass panel as there is more information, plus we’re in a new era of aviation. But I still somewhat enjoy taking the steam gauges every now and then.