On January 15, 2009, a US Airways Airbus A320 had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport in New York when a flock of Canada geese collided with it, destroying both of its engines. Over the next three minutes, the plane's pilot, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, managed to glide it to a safe landing in the Hudson River. It was an instant media sensation, the "Miracle on the Hudson," and Captain Sully was the hero. But how much of the success of this dramatic landing can actually be credited to the genius of the pilot? To what extent is the "miracle" on the Hudson the result of extraordinary—but not widely known, and in some cases quite controversial—advances in aviation and computer technology over the past twenty years? In Fly by Wire, one of America's greatest journalists takes us on a strange and unexpected journey into the fascinating world of advanced aviation. From the testing laboratories where engineers struggle to build a jet engine that can systematically resist bird attacks, through the creation of the A320 in France, to the political and social forces that have sought to minimize the impact of the revolutionary fly-by-wire technology, William Langewiesche assembles the untold stories necessary to truly understand the "miracle" on the Hudson, and makes us question our assumptions about human beings in modern aviation.

The #1 guide to understanding the "why and how" of fly-by-wire flight control systems. This book is an approachable and easily understandable must-read for aviation professionals! Why don't new aircraft designs allow the pilots a mechanical control connection? This book explains how fly-by-wire fixes the top 5 problems with mechanical controls for high performance aircraft. Rather than describe a particular aircraft’s design with confusing acronyms, readers will get a "behind the scenes" understanding for the critical concepts that apply to any modern aircraft. Because these design principles are easily described and understood, readers of this book will be armed with knowledge as they approach their flight manual procedures. Including: - Problems with mechanical flight controls - Advantages of fly-by-wire - How and why can fly-by-wire control systems fail? - Why are four computers better than one or two? - Explanations of the control laws used by business jets, fighters, and airliners - What sensors are needed, and how the system maintains control when sensors are lost - Design considerations for risk mitigation in case of component failures Buy this book to read on your next layover!

This book offers the first complete account of more than sixty years of international research on In-Flight Simulation and related development of electronic and electro-optic flight control system technologies (“Fly-by-Wire” and “Fly-by-Light”). They have provided a versatile and experimental procedure that is of particular importance for verification, optimization, and evaluation of flying qualities and flight safety of manned or unmanned aircraft systems. Extensive coverage is given in the book to both fundamental information related to flight testing and state-of-the-art advances in the design and implementation of electronic and electro-optic flight control systems, which have made In-Flight Simulation possible. Written by experts, the respective chapters clearly show the interdependence between various aeronautical disciplines and in-flight simulation methods. Taken together, they form a truly multidisciplinary book that addresses the needs of not just flight test engi neers, but also other aeronautical scientists, engineers and project managers and historians as well. Students with a general interest in aeronautics as well as researchers in countries with growing aeronautical ambitions will also find the book useful. The omission of mathematical equations and in-depth theoretical discussions in favor of fresh discussions on innovative experiments, together with the inclusion of anecdotes and fascinating photos, make this book not only an enjoyable read, but also an important incentive to future research. The book, translated from the German by Ravindra Jategaonkar, is an extended and revised English edition of the book Fliegende Simulatoren und Technologieträger , edited by Peter Hamel and published by Appelhans in 2014.

QF32 is the award winning bestseller from Richard de Crespigny, author of the forthcoming Fly!: Life Lessons from the Cockpit of QF32 On 4 November 2010, a flight from Singapore to Sydney came within a knife edge of being one of the world's worst air disasters. Shortly after leaving Changi Airport, an explosion shattered Engine 2 of Qantas flight QF32 - an Airbus A380, the largest and most advanced passenger plane ever built. Hundreds of pieces of shrapnel ripped through the wing and fuselage, creating chaos as vital flight systems and back-ups were destroyed or degraded. In other hands, the plane might have been lost with all 469 people on board, but a supremely experienced flight crew, led by Captain Richard de Crespigny, managed to land the crippled aircraft and safely disembark the passengers after hours of nerve-racking effort. Tracing Richard's life and career up until that fateful flight, QF32 shows exactly what goes into the making of a top-level airline pilot, and the extraordinary skills and training needed to keep us safe in the air. Fascinating in its detail and vividly compelling in its narrative, QF32 is the riveting, blow-by-blow story of just what happens when things go badly wrong in the air, told by the captain himself. Winner of ABIA Awards for Best General Non-fiction Book of the Year 2013 and Indie Awards' Best Non-fiction 2012 Shortlisted ABIA Awards' Book of the Year 2013

Introduction to Avionic Systems, Second Edition explains the principles and theory of modern avionic systems and how they are implemented with current technology for both civil and military aircraft. The systems are analysed mathematically, where appropriate, so that the design and performance can be understood. The book covers displays and man-machine interaction, aerodynamics and aircraft control, fly-by-wire flight control, inertial sensors and attitude derivation, navigation systems, air data and air data systems, autopilots and flight management systems, avionic systems integration and unmanned air vehicles. About the Author. Dick Collinson has had "hands-on" experience of most of the systems covered in this book and, as Manager of the Flight Automation Research Laboratory of GEC-Marconi Avionics Ltd. (now part of BAE Systems Ltd.), led the avionics research activities for the company at Rochester, Kent for many years. He was awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1989 for his contribution to avionic systems research and development.

Fly-by-wire in aircraft flight control design is more than adding a simple wire -- it is a sophisticated system that changes the way aircraft are designed and the way they fly. Prepared and written by experts who directed or staffed fly-by-wire research and development programs, this book includes explanations of the system's design and application, providing both the "how" and the "why" of this remarkable technology. Chapters include: Introduction Background of Fly-by-Wire Required Programs The Survivable Flight Control System (SFCS) Program Technology Transition and Application