Pilot, I think you missed the gist of that 'seat of the pants' statement
I clearly pointed out that the one-screen type of system could give that pilot all the visual data he needs in a near-heads-up environment even when in IFC. I worked in those analog cockpits and I know about nearly every one of those gauges, gimbals and tapes and watched how they were constantly trying to improve on the information overload while still offering all the pertinent data. Heads-up displays in combat jets swiftly moved far beyond being a mere gun pipper to carrying enough information in a readable manner to fly IFR without having to move his eyes down inside the cockpit. Cockpit glass displays basically echoed that HUD and offered more data like radar and route information while for the longest time the plane kept the essential gauges, tapes and gimbals arrayed around those displays.
Now, if you ask me the problem develops this way: Glass displays have effectively replaced all those mechanical devices for all purposes except under extreme emergency. Even well-experienced pilots have failed in IFR when they allow themselves to get confused over displayed data when it is basically representative of old IFR instruments--no matter how good those instruments are. If that same pilot is given a display that gives a VR representation of the plane's flight through clear air in an HUD format, at least part of that confusion is removed. In the case of a large commercial aircraft like the Air France plane that went down in the Atlantic, reducing the amount of visual data from all the engine gauges, etc, might have helped them to realize they were chasing a data error from the pitot tubes if and I'm sure they have it their GPS gave a competing ground-speed indication. Based on the reports subsequent to that crash, the pilots kept trying to pull up and maintained the craft in a stall almost all the way down. Keep in mind these were three experienced pilots and they still made critical mistakes even though--as far as we know--their displays were working properly (displays only show the information they're fed. Iced pitot tubes obviously mean incorrect data--and yes, I do know those pitot tubes have heaters.)
As for your physical flight controls--well, I can't argue that; the best redundancy is that 'seat of the pants' you so panned early on.
