ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the Airbus fly-by-wire systems from a fault-tolerant standpoint. The first electrical flight control system for a civil aircraft was designed by Aerospatiale (now fully integrated in Airbus) and installed on the Concorde. This is an analog, full-authority system for all control surfaces. The commanded control surface positions are directly proportional to the stick inputs. A mechanical back-up system is provided on the three axes. The first generation of electrical flight control systems with digital technology appeared on several civil aircraft at the start of the 1980s with the Airbus A310 program. These systems control the slats, flaps, and spoilers. These systems were designed with very stringent safety requirements. The Airbus A320 (certified in early 1988) is the first example of a second generation of civil electrical flight control aircraft, rapidly followed by the A330/A340 aircraft (certified at the end of 1992). These aircraft benefit from the significant experience gained in the technologies used for a fly-by-wire system.
