Jason and Daniel in the venerable OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (photo: Daniel)
Anyone who has flown a glass cockpit knows how much of an improvement they are over individual “steam” or mechanical gauges. The ability to pack much more information in a smaller space, as well as provide contextual clues with color or changing graphics provides pilots with a much easier and faster to understand interface with the aircraft and the airspace around them.
A mechanical instrument in a Cessna 172, The new Garmin H1000, and a B-52 mechanical instrument cluster. (photo: Interface Gallery, Garmin.com, Dirk Nelson via Flickr)
Most sources attribute the glass cockpit to starting in military aircraft, normally in large airplanes. Helicopters can benefit from glass cockpits too! In the picture above, I’m flying in the first helicopter (military or not) to be equipped with a glass cockpit. These helicopters were fielded to the force in 1985. (Gough, 1995.) The first airplane to be certified with a glass cockpit was Boeing 767, only three years earlier! (NASA, 2000) The second helicopter to get a glass cockpit would be my current helicopter, the AH-64D Apache, an upgrade from the AH-64A, which had a mechanical gauge cockpit. The Ah-64D would be fielded more than 10 years later, in 1997. (Eden, 2004.)
Above: The AH-64A (airliners.net) and below the AH-64D (Jason Richards)
Though the adoption of glass cockpits in helicopters has lagged behind their fixed wing counterparts, manufacturers like Garmin and Aspen Avionics are making headway into the helicopter market, and increasing safety in the rotary wing world!
References:
Airliners.net (2008 October 13) AH-64A Cockpit [Photo]. https://www.airliners.net/photo/Greece-Army/McDonnell-Douglas-AH-64A-Apache/1409514
Eden, P. (2004). Boeing AH-64 Apache. Encyclopedia of Modern Military Aircraft. Amber Books.
Gough, T. (1995). Modernizing and Equipping the Army. United States Army Historical Summary.
Interface Gallery (2019) Cessna 172 Cockpit [Photo]. Conjure Limited. https://www.conjure.co.uk/interface-gallery/aviation/cessna-172/
Nasa (2000). Technology First used in Military, Commercial Aircraft. NASA. https://jason-richards-275y.squarespace.com/config/pages/605d6cc5aa071d0c9790bf86
Nelson, D. (2008 April 9) B52 Cockpit [Photo]. https://www.flickr.com/photos/39939642@N02/3673714844