Originally Posted by
JohnDixson
CTR, my rsponse was aimed at the impression given by statements in the article like;”Shawn Coyle, a former Canadian air force helicopter test pilot, said he found the decision to install FBW technology on the Cyclones curious, given the fact that the civilian version has a conventional hydro mechanical flight control system with stabilization and autopilot features.
To make the technological leap to fly-by-wire, where computers replace standard hydraulics and cables, is "expensive and took a lot of time to get right," said Coyle,”.
John, my commentary was really directed at the reporters that write technically inaccurate articles and inaccurately quote pilots and engineers. For example, computers do not replace any hydraulic complexity in the Cyclone.
I once was giving a flight line tour to a group of executives and poi out a FBW aircraft that was being serviced. One of the questions I was asked was “Why is a hydraulic cart hooked up to a FBW aircraft?”