WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire (DFBW) aircraft in flight over snow capped mountains. Externally identical to a standard Navy F-8C, this aircraft had its control system replaced initially by a primary system using an Apollo digital computer. The backup system used three analog computers. When the pilot moved the airplane's stick and rudder, electronic signals went to the computer, which would generate signals to move the control surfaces. The system was designed so that the digital fly-by-wire aircraft would handle almost identically to a standard F-8C. Later, in Phase 2, the aircraft used three IBM AP-101 computers for its flight control system.