fly-by-wire
Noun
Meaning
fly-by-wire (uncountable)
(aviation) A system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface, especially on airliners.
Synonyms
Examples
A concern with using digital fly-by-wire systems on the Shuttle was reliability.
A fly-by-wire technology demonstration aircraft with curved surfaces and composite material, to evade radar, it was a prototype, and never went into production.
Aronstein and Piccirillo 1996, p. 21. To counter the tendency to depart from controlled flight—and avoid the need for constant trim inputs by the pilot, the F-16 has a quadruplex (four-channel) fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system (FLCS).
Analog systems All "fly-by-wire" flight control systems eliminate the complexity, the fragility, and the weight of the mechanical circuit of the hydromechanical or electromechanical flight control systems—each being replaced with electronic circuits.
All four aircraft can be flown with the same type rating, while the cross-crew qualification concept means pilots can more rapidly qualify for another aircraft type within the Airbus fly-by-wire product line, leading to significant cost savings.
Electronic fly-by-wire systems can respond flexibly to changing aerodynamic conditions, by tailoring flight control surface movements so that aircraft response to control inputs is appropriate to flight conditions.