Fly-by-wire for commercial aircraft: the Airbus experience

An overview is presented of the characteristics of the Airbus fly-by-wire control laws, systems, certification and development methods. First, the general structure of the longitudinal and lateral laws, as well as the architecture of the system transmitting the pilot commands are presented. Next, the design, development and validation procedures used on the A320/A321 programme are described, together with the main certification items. The peculiarities of the A340 control laws and improvements to the design methods experienced during this programme conclude this overview.