This isn’t your father’s Skylane. The panel layout for Garmin’s G1000 installed in a Cessna 182, top, doesn’t differ much from the same avionics in a Beech Bonanza G36, bottom. But there are a lot of Bonanzas and Skylanes out there with wildly different panels.

By Philip J. Blank

On the surface, the most recent trend towards glass panels and fully integrated GPS systems would appear to be a boon for general aviation. A way to stimulate demand, create work for manufacturers and installers alike, and allow GA pilots to fly with an unheard-of level of precision. There may be, however, a downside to these high-tech wonders: What will be the overall safety record of these new-generation cockpits on our general aviation fleets? How will they impact currency-in-type requirements? And, ultimately, might there be a whole new class of regulations that we have not seen before? …