On Oct 6, 9:41 pm, Phil wrote:



I think the biggest difference between steam gauges and digital
displays is that steam gauges give you a value in context of a
spectrum of values. When you look at a analog tachometer, you can see
the where the needle is compared to the minimum and maximum values.
If you are trying to set 75% power, it might be useful to have the
information presented that way, because you can see where 3/4 of the
range is. Same with airspeed. You can see how close you are to the
red arc, where you are in the green arc, etc.

Phil,
The biggest difference between steam and digital is the amount of
information you can display is much greater with digital. Take the
speed tape for example, you get minimum and maximum values just like
steam, but you can also get flap speeds, manuvering speeds for each
flap setting, trend indications, trend vectoring, etc. You can display
much more information on a modern glass PFD and ND than you ever could
on an old school panel. This gives you SA at a glance where the old
school panel would have you reading and having to interprete several
different instruments. Some manufacturers are better than others, but
once you are used to these glass systems, you will find the hardest
thing is to fly an old school panel again.
K Baum