MrOptimistic
And to think these were all done without the modern CFD codes
Oh, being devised 'centuries'
before C++ was only a tiny issue. The problem was that having decided that an analog intake system would never be able to provide the level of control and stability required for certification, the technology almost had to be invented. In 1970, when relatively late on, in project definition terms, it was decided to use 'throw 'away' the analog system and replace it with a completely new digital one, there came a problem; there was no such thing as an airborne digital control system, and so one had to be 'invented' in Bristol. The control units were to be built by the Guided Weapons Division of what was then the British Aircraft Corporation, and so it made sense that the 'digital computer' part was adapted from a guided missile system. (I'm 90% sure that it was based on the Sea Dart SAM).
The control unit's processors were based on TTL logic, as this gave superior speed and better voltage transient tolerance than the CMOS chips that were then available. Trouble with THAT was that TTL runs really hot, and cooling the eight control units was a bit of a nightmare originally. But in spite of all these and many more electronic mountains to climb, this revolutionary system was developed and test flown for the first time within TWO YEARS of the 'go digital' decision. To me that still seems one hell of an achievement.
Dude
