Mart,
Your admiration for computers is understood. However, with little humility, I would mention that I have been deeply involved in computers since before Gates bought DOS. Sensors and actuators are only two small parts of a computerized control system.
Consider for a moment; Nick has mentioned that the software for the Comanche required half a million line of code.
Consider for a moment; Sikorsky's coding was amortized over two helicopters, whereas Microsoft's coding is amortized over hundreds of millions of computers.
Consider for a moment this excerpt from the current issue of 'Journal of the AHS'; "The Airbus 380 fixed wing transport program has scheduled a mere 1,000 flight test hours between birth and deliveries. The Comanche helicopter was still not matured after 15 years and billions of dollars expended, exceeding the development costs of the 380. The V-22 has well over 10,000 flight hours at the time of this writing and was just entering OPEVAL! Our tools are still in their infancy."
Dave