Avidyne’s excellent Entegra PFD system offers a lot of functionality. But are you prepared if it fails? Yes, this error message is faked.

By Thomas P. Turner

There will probably never be another new “store-bought” airplane certified for IFR flight without some version of a “glass cockpit.” Computer-driven Primary Flight Displays (PFDs) provide an instantaneous level of situational awareness superior to the mental picture even a seasoned Instrument-rated pilot can develop without them. The multi-instrument and navigation scan is replaced with focus on a single, all-inclusive display that literally draws a picture for the pilot. The magnitude of the change in instrument flight is similar to the move from open cockpits to enclosed cabins, or even to the change from piston engines to jets in the commercial world. …