We’re a long way from every cockpit having some form of a glass panel, but we’re getting there. Aftermarket installations of products like Aspen’s Evolution and Garmin’s G500 are making inroads and as some airplanes head for the scrap heap (or Brazil), the percentage of glass cockpits slowly grows.
If you want glass, the cheapest, least painful way may be to simply shop the used market for the first airplanes that got glass panels, meaning 2003 to about 2007. These airframes have taken their predictable depreciation nosedive, but many of them are still a long way from the ratted-out phase. Early glass consisted of the Avidyne Entegra and Gen I of the Garmin G1000. These appear to remain supportable and our survey of owners on page 20 reveals that owners are generally satisfied with these products. We heard gripes, but hardly an overwhelming groundswell of bile and brickbats.