What is “Fly-by-wire” technology in aviation? What benefits does it have and why is it used in modern airplanes today?
In: Engineering
In classical (pre fly by wire) planes the various parts of the plane used to control the flight, are connected directly to the control elements in the cockpit with a long rod or steel rope. So if the pilot pushes the control stick, it pushes the rod, which is connected to the rudder of the plane. So the movement of the joystick controls directly the rudders. For this you need pretty complex mechanics and it’s not so easy to make put this through large airplanes.
In the fly by wire technology the control stick in the cockpit is basically just an electronic sensor, which converts the position of the stick to an electronic value. This value is transfered by an electric wire the rudder, where a motor moves the rudder of the plane to the position set by the electronic value.
This way you just have to put electric wires through the plane and not complex mechanics, which is easier and requires less maintenance. And when you have electronic values it’s much easier to integrate everything with computers, which helps the pilot to fly the plane.
The downside is that fly by wire technology requires electricity. Therefore these airplanes have an emergency battery or a small wind turbine, which can provide emergency power. That way the pilots can still control the airplane, even if the main power from the engines is not available (e.g. all engines broke)
Latest Answers