Editing Avionics (section)

===Monitoring===

{{Main|Glass cockpit}}
[[File:Airbus A380 cockpit.jpg|thumb|The [[Airbus A380]] glass cockpit featuring pull-out keyboards and two wide computer screens on the sides for pilots]]

The first hints of [[glass cockpit]]s emerged in the 1970s when flight-worthy [[cathode-ray tube]] (CRT) screens began to replace electromechanical displays, gauges and instruments. A "glass" cockpit refers to the use of computer monitors instead of gauges and other analog displays. Aircraft were getting progressively more displays, dials and information dashboards that eventually competed for space and pilot attention. In the 1970s, the average aircraft had more than 100 cockpit instruments and controls.<ref name="three">''Avionics: Development and Implementation'' by Cary R. Spitzer (Hardcover – December 15, 2006)</ref>
Glass cockpits started to come into being with the [[Gulfstream Aerospace|Gulfstream]] G‑IV private jet in 1985. One of the key challenges in glass cockpits is to balance how much control is automated and how much the pilot should do manually. Generally they try to automate flight operations while keeping the pilot constantly informed.<ref name="three"/>