Abstract

            Over the past thirty years the inside of a recreational small airplane has changed dramatically. Planes like the Cessna 172 have moved from traditional steam gauges to glass cockpits classified by the use of Garmin Global Positioning Systems. The new technology in these planes puts the information together in a much simpler way, but is the ease of this technology conducive to learning? Private Pilots flying under the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) will most likely learn how to find information most easily in a glass cockpit, but for those private pilots that intend on getting an instrument rating a steam cockpit would be more beneficial. By studying at Frederick Flight Center, researching internet sources, and asking consumer and professional opinions, I have concluded that for pilots expecting to move beyond a private license a steam cockpit will be most beneficial. Pilots who do not wish to continue flying beyond a private license will learn more efficiently in a glass cockpit.