Expansion into Commercial FBW (fly by Wire)
As with many new technologies the initial advocates of
fly-by-wire control for commercial aircraft trumpeted
an entire new universe of advantages, some that
ultimately emerged as true marvels and others that can
be described, at best, as ephemeral. Just as with high
performance military aircraft, not the least “perceived
advantage” was novelty in a context of highly
competitive pressures. These factors, leavened with
decades of FBW research and applications to military
and space applications, together with commercial
industry experience on the autoland systems on the
British VC-10 and Trident of the 1960’s and theAmerican jumbos (L-1011, B-747, and DC-10) of the
1970s, helped to build senior management support for
all-out dedication to FBW on new commercial aircraft.
At Boeing50 commercial aircraft FBW started with
spoiler flight control surfaces on the 757 & 767. These
comprised triplex analog circuits (2 active with the 3rd
in standby role for each control panel). Unlike the
more exotic “advantages” cited as reasons for FBW,
the major considerations in selection were time and
effort savings involved with installation, rigging and
maintenance. When compared with conventional
mechanical systems functionality improvements were
relatively minor while weight and recurring cost
savings were probably a wash. This system was
certified in 1982. Such humble beginnings led to fullfledged
fly-by-wire on the Boeing 777, certified in
1995.50,51 No doubt the earlier successful introduction
into commercial service of full time FBW on the
Airbus A320 (certified in 1988)52 and subsequent
Airbus airplanes had a useful competitive effect.
Fonte: documento do American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
] 
] A citro.. perdão, a Airbus sabe fazer bons aviões e isso já está mais que provado....
