Interesting discussion.
I must confess, when the cr@p hits the fan and I'm out flying bad weather in our Commander I find the old King 165 very comforting compared to our GNS430. I know the GNS shows me a heck of a lot more, but there's just so much that can get screwed up when the going gets tough.
I realize I need more practice with it, and should I have had a G1000 in the panel I probably wouldn't get off the ground for months before learning how to operate the damned thing.
I seriously agree to the training requirements for complex instrumentation/avionics. Steam gauges are too simple to compare.
Isn't this what a typerating covers for heavy equipment?
Perhaps avionics typeratings are necessary for the future...