DC-ATE,
With the title being "CABLE vs FBW" I have the impression you're barking up the wrong tree.
Most of the issues being discussed in Rumour & News have
nothing to do with the way control surface deflection commands are transmitted from the pointy end to the left-and-right flappy bits and the blunt end, and
everything with what the various computers do
between the
pilot's control inputs, either via a joystick, or a yoke, and the commands to the
control surfaces.
I'll stay a moment with the "cable vs fly-by-wire", i.e., the transmission mode.
Cable isn't all that great. They rub and chafe (and can break...). They need a lot of rigging and regular adjustment. In a long aircraft, they tend to be affected by the simple fact that an aircraft isn't rigid (DC-8 comes to mind).
Not to mention that, more often than not, they are moved by a relay jack up front, and in turn they move servo valves on hydraulic power controls at the other end.... so there's no direct manual connection anyway.
Fly-by-wire as such, or "electrical signalling" as us oldies called it, is not exactly new, and neither is it rocket science.
The Vulcan used it, and so did Concorde, so we're talking 40 years plus....
Concorde had dual monitored signalling channels AND a mechanical back-up with cables, PLUS a control wheel steering mode (strain gauges) in case something jammed the cockpit controls.
While those modes were regularly trained for, I can't remember anybody describing a reversion to mechanical or to CWS on Concorde in normal service... a few reversions from 'blue' to 'green', yes, but that was about it.
So Concorde already pretty well settled the "cable vs electrical signalling" issue. On the A320 etc. the redundancy issue is settled by four separate "electrical signalling" channels, IIRC. No more mechanical back-up, but still a few tricks up the PIC's sleeve, just in case...
I readily admit to being an ancient, and not properly conversant with the control laws and logic on the A320 or on the B737NG (which usually lead to the A/B wars
). But I think the "cable vs FBW" notion as such is a non-issue. I would say that 'FBW' is mostly used as a misnomer for the various computer control modes used in the Airbus family.
Over to you.
CJ