[woerm]

MFD’s (multi function displays) as described, in Light Aircraft, are a solution in search of a question.

steam gagues for all their faults are less of a troubleshooting problem, especially in flight.
Either the gague is the issue or the system it monitors.

A crt/LCD may have three or four different things that make it go blank. and that’s not counting software/hardware issues on the computers.
(full disclosure, I’m a network engineer not a licensed pilot)

one visual joke that always makes the rounds after and Airbus goes in is the Blue Screen of Death (usually a page fault) on all three primary monitors.

MFD’s in light aircraft like a Champ are basicly waaay over engineered solutions to nonexistant issues.

rule the 1st, fly the bird. The instruments are there to ‘inform’ the pilot of the bird’s condition.

woerm

[TalonDJ]

one visual joke that always makes the rounds after and Airbus goes in is the Blue Screen of Death (usually a page fault) on all three primary monitors.

Photoshop.

And MFD in a light plane is a cheap way to integrate a number of IFR functions that would not fit or would be too heavy. It expands the capabilities of the aircraft and the pilot. One could say putting tons of microchips in a car is a similar 'over engineered' solution. Why use computer controlled anti-lock breaks when the old kind work? Why put a GPS in a plane designed in the 40's? Why not? The argument should be to make the current systems more reliable and maintainable, which they are working on doing all the time.