Introduction

Although it may not be apparent at first sight, it’s fair to say that a modern aircraft simply could not fly without the electronic systems that provide the crew with a means of controlling the aircraft. Avionic systems are used in a wide variety of different applications, ranging from flight control and instrumentation to navigation and communication. In fact, an aircraft that uses modern ‘fly-by-wire’ techniques could not even get off the ground without the electronic systems that make it work.