F-8 digital fly-by-wire project

Last updated
Experimental F-8 DFBW aircraft in flight, photographed in 1973 F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire (DFBW) in flight over snow capped mountains DVIDS692994.jpg
Experimental F-8 DFBW aircraft in flight, photographed in 1973
Electronics bay of the F-8 DFBW experimental aircraft. An Apollo Guidance Computer DSKY interface is visible in the gun bay. Electronics bay of the F-8 DFBW experimental aircraft.webp
Electronics bay of the F-8 DFBW experimental aircraft. An Apollo Guidance Computer DSKY interface is visible in the gun bay.

The F-8 Digital-Fly-By-Wire (DFBW) project was an experimental digital fly-by-wire system developed by NASA at Armstrong Flight Research Center in the 1970s. [1] It was the first digital fly-by-wire fixed-wing aircraft without a mechanical backup. [2]

Based on a modified U.S. Navy Vought F-8C Crusader aircraft, it used a Apollo Guidance Computer as its control system. [3] [4] [5] The aircraft had the tail number NASA 802. [3]

The project was supported by Neil Armstrong, who advocated for the aircraft to be transferred to NASA. [3]

The system originally had an analog fly-by-wire backup, but this never needed to be used. [2] [3]

The system's first completely digitally controlled flight was made on 25 May 1972, piloted by Gary E. Krier. [6]

The digital system was later upgraded to a triple-redundant digital system. [2] [3]

References

  1. ↑ "Where Are They Now: F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire - NASA" . Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  2. 1 2 3 "Fly-by-wire for combat aircraft", Flight International, p. 353, 23 August 1973, archived from the original on 21 November 2018
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire Aircraft" (PDF). www.nasa.gov. 2021.
  4. ↑ Elliott, J. (1977-10). "NASA's advanced control law program for the F-8 digital fly-by-wire aircraft". IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 22 (5): 753–757. doi:10.1109/TAC.1977.1101608. ISSN   1558-2523.{{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ↑ Jarvis, C. R. (1975-02-01). "An overview of NASA's digital fly-by-wire technology development program" (PDF). Description and Flight Test Results of the NASA F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire Control System.
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100216070159/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/history/pastprojects/F8/index.html


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.