which was the first aircraft to use fly by wire

[matamisa]

and in which year.

[Clarence Oveur]

This one (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/about/Organizations/Technology/Facts/TF-2001-02-DFRC.html), in 1972.

[matamisa]

cheers:ok:

[RomeoTangoFoxtrotMike]

This one (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/about/Organizations/Technology/Facts/TF-2001-02-DFRC.html), in 1972.
Negative... see, for example, http://www.concordesst.com/flightsys.html, first-flight 1969

[vapilot2004]

Negative... see, for example, http://www.concordesst.com/flightsys.html, first-flight 1969

RTFM, you beat me to it !

The lovely engineering masterpiece we all know as Concorde integrated many more firsts than this of course, with practically all of them well beyond the state of the art machines available at the time. :D

[7FF]

Nah..........it was the The Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer.:ok:

[Blacksheep]

The NASA F-8 Modified was the first digital and Concorde came well before that as an analogue FBW aircraft but are we sure there weren't even earlier analogue fly-by-wire aircraft? Test flying models perhaps?

Like the modified B47 that flew with analogue FBW controls on 14 December 1967, a good two years before Concorde, there was lots of funny flight test stuff going on in the 50s and 60s.

[forget]

This is military, but I seem to remember an early (1950'ish) Vickers being the first 'commercial' style aircraft. Anybody?

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-9.htm

In 1954, flight tests of the first fly-by-wire aircraft, a modified F9F Panther jet, were initiated at Langley. The primary objective of the tests was to evaluate various automatic control systems, including those based on rate- and normal-acceleration feedback. However (as is the case in many research investigations), the most valuable result of the flight test was related to secondary objectives—in this case the introduction and evaluation of fly by wire and a sidestick controller for pilot inputs.

In a serendipitous approach, Langley researchers decided to avoid the relatively large expense and time required to modify the existing hydraulic flight control system for the F9F. Instead they chose to implement an auxiliary system based on a fly-by-wire analog concept and a small (4 in.) sidestick controller mounted at the end of the armrest at the side of the pilot. The sidestick controller was used as the maneuvering flight controller throughout the investigation. Rapid and precision maneuvers such as air-to-air tracking, ground strafing runs, and precision landings were evaluated.

[604guy]

Hmmm, it seems to me that the Avro Canada CF105 Arrow had some fly by wire circa 1958.

[stick&rudder]

My understanding is that a fly-by-wire system involves computer processing of control inputs in some form, and does not simply mean a control system where control signals are passed electrically (instead of mechanically or hydraulically) directly between cockpit controls and control surfaces as in the case of Concorde. Hence Concorde was not an FBW aircraft.

A fly-by-wire system can use a range of control surface combinations to achieve the commanded manouvre. The pilot can command a number of things- for example in the case of pitch control, can command pitch rate, a vertical acceleration or the traditional elevator deflection, dependent on the control law in use.
At least this is how Bristol Uni are teaching it, I'd be happy to be proven otherwise. Any Airbus types out there?

[FE Hoppy]

s&r- you miss understand.
FBW is any system that replaces the mechanical linkage from pilot to control surface with an electrical signal. Analogue or digital or both.

[Clarence Oveur]

I was wondering how long it would take before the Concorde would be mentioned.

stick&rudder is quite correct. The universally accepted definition of FBW is that is involves processed signals. Just because something is electrically controlled does not make it FBW. A bit of nationalistic pride seems to strectch the definition a bit.

[On-MarkBob]

FW190 German WWII fighter was reputably the first fully operational FBW! The pilot sat on a bullet proof box that contained the battery and the electric contol servos. The stick went down and into the box. The electric master servos (in th box) sent electric current to the control surface slave servos. There were reports that the FW190 could loose half a wing and still Fly! Blow off one aileron and the other still worked. technically there was no computer to interface the system so it was quite raw. Probably one reason why we will never see a proper one flying again, too risky these days.

Since there was no cable back-up and the system was electrically controlled only, I think that this aircraft was by definition a FBW aircraft.

Bob.