FLY-BY-WIRE
MOHD AINUDDIN BIN KHAIRUDDIN, FARIS BIN IBRAHIM
Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology
Lot 2891, Jalan Jenderam Hulu
43800 Dengkil,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Keywords: Flight Control, Fly-by-wire, Airbus, Boeing
ABSTRACTS
This paper briefly discusses on the
meaning of fly-by-wire, comparison
between Airbus and Boeing aircraft in
implementing the fly-by-wire technology
in the flight control system.
INTRODUCTION
Before discussing fly-by-wire, it is
important to understand what is meant by
the term “fly-by-wire”. Fly-by-wire by
itself means technology which interprets
movements of the pilot’s controls and,
with the aid of computerised electronics,
moves the control surfaces accordingly1. A
fly-by-wire flight control system is an
electrical primary flight control system
employing feedback such that vehicle
motion is the controlled parameter. The
fly-by-wire system also allows automatic
signals sent by the aircraft's computers to
perform functions without the pilot's input,
as in systems that automatically help
stabilize the aircraft2.
Fly-by-wire, that is, the complete
replacement of the mechanical linkages
between the pilot's stick and the control
surface actuators by electrical signal wires,
1
D. Crocker, Dictionary of Aviation – second
edition, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, pp 99
(2005)
2
C. Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third
edition, page 224. Aviation Supplies & Academics,
(1997)
offers a convenient and logical solution to
many of the control system problems
associated with modern high performance
aircraft and aerospace vehicles3.
The Task of flying and navigating the
modern commercial aircraft has become
more difficult and stressful with crowded
skies and busy airline schedules. To ease
the pilot’s task, the functional complexity
of flight control and guidance has
increased. Whereas Concorde was the first
civil aircraft to have a fly-by-wire system
with mechanical back-up which was
designed by Aerospatiale. Airbus
introduced a fly-by-wire system on to the
A320 family4 and a similar system has
been carried forward to the A330/340.
Boeing’s first fly-by-wire system on
Boeing 777 was widely believed to be a
response to the Airbus technology
development.
TOP-LEVEL COMPARISON
The importance and integrity aspects of
flight control lead to some of monitoring
function to ensure the safe operation of the
control loop. Also for integrity and
3
J.P. Sutherland, Fly-By-Wire Flight Control
Systems, Joint Meeting of Flight Mechanics and
Guidance and Control Panels of AGARD, Oslo,
Norway, pp 1 (September 1968)
4
C.R. Davies, Systems Aspects of Applying Active
Control Technology to A Civil Transport
Implementation, Royal Aeronautical Society Spring
Convention, London, (May 1987)
availability reasons, some form of
redundancy is usually required.
In the Boeing philosophy, the system
comprises three Primary Flight Computers
(PFCs) each of which has three similar
lanes with dissimilar hardware but the
same software. Each lane has a separate
role during an operating period and the
roles are cycled after power up. Voting
techniques are used to detect discrepancies
or disagreements between lanes and the
comparisons techniques used vary for
different types of data. Communication
with the four Actuator Control Electronic
(ACE) units is by multiple A629 flight
control data buses. The ACE units directly
drive the flight control actuators. A
separate flight control DC system is
provided to power the flight control
system.
The Airbus approach is using five main
computers: three Flight Control Primary
Computers (FCPCs) and two Flight
Control Secondary Computers (FCSCs).
Each computer comprises command and
monitor elements with different software.
The primary and secondary computers
have different architectures and different
hardware. Command outputs from the
FCSCs to ailerons, elevators and the
rudder are for standby use only. Power
sources and signalling lanes are
segregated.
Airbus gives the fly-by-wire system
ultimate control, never allowing the plane
to exceed certain parameters, thus making
it technically “safer” as the pilot cannot
perform any manoeuvres that would cause
the plane to stall or malfunction. Boeing
on the other hand gives ultimate control to
the pilot. Therefore, the pilot can, if he
deems it necessary, override the fly-by-
wire system5.
5
J. Rogers, The American Boeing and the European
Airbus: Competition for Aviation technology and
markets. A comprehensive analysis, College of
Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, pp 24
CONCLUSION
Fly-by-wire is essentially an autopilot, a
digital flight system that eliminates bulky
cables and hydraulics and instead relies on
electronics, simple wires, and computers.
Boeing does rely on fly-by-wire as much
as Airbus does, but the philosophy allows
the pilots to override the system where on
contrary, Airbus philosophy made the
flight control system fully dependent on
computer.
There is endless debate about which
method is appropriate between aviators,
engineers, and other relevant individuals,
but it seems unlikely that any consensus
will be reached in the near future.
Regardless of this, fly-by-wire in one form
or another will continue to be utilized in
the future as an integral component of
passenger jets.
REFERENCES
1. D. Crocker, Dictionary of Aviation ,
second edition, Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc, London, pp 99 (2005)
2. C. Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical
Terms, third edition, page 224.
Aviation Supplies & Academics,
(1997)
3. J.P. Sutherland, Fly-By-Wire Flight
Control Systems, Joint Meeting of
Flight Mechanics and Guidance and
Control Panels of AGARD, Oslo,
Norway, pp 1 (September 1968)
4. C.R. Davies, Systems Aspects of
Applying Active Control Technology
to A Civil Transport Implementation,
Royal Aeronautical Society Spring
Convention, London, (May 1987)
5. J. Rogers, The American Boeing and
the European Airbus: Competition for
Aviation technology and markets. A
comprehensive analysis, College of
Science, Rochester Institute of
Technology, pp 24