“Why do these cargo aircraft need glass cockpits & all the latest high-tech avionics?”
Well, none of these aircraft NEED glass cockpits or avionics (though many are designed from scratch with glass, so there’s no going back there). Having said that though, and having flown behind both varieties of technology over some 30+ years, a good “glass” package is way better than steam gauge tech.
IMHO, there is less maintenance, and greater fuel savings. This assumes the flight deck crew knows how, and is allowed to use the system to its fullest capabilities. A major airline went for years and years, before they allowed their crews to use the most beneficial capabilities of their fancy-schmancy glass packages. As to why? Standardization. It was a dumb move on the part of management, but that was their decision. I should add that the line pilots were quite embarassed by the short sightedness of their Chief Pilot’s office.
Additionally, it’s come to the point where the glass stuff is about the only game in town. My suspicion is that the price of this stuff continues to fall. I would suspect that packages with similar capabilities might actually be cheaper on the glass side. Once installed, they’ll save bucks due to increased reliability, and operational efficiency.
Thank you for the answer. That seems to make sense. I know the C-17 has to be more than just a flying truck (short runways, ECM jammers, flare system, etc), but I was bewildered by the requirements for advanced avionics in a cargo aircraft. As we all know, more requirements = higher costs.