Keith Willshaw wrote:
"Ken S. Tucker" wrote in message
...

In a sense, software removes pilots burden.
When was software first used? I'm guessing it was
1st used to automatically control the F-111 wing
sweep.
Ken

AFAIK the first aircraft to use a digital flight control system was
a modified F-8C with the F-16 being the first aircraft fitted
with the system on the production line.


Actually, Keith, the initial FCS for F-16 was analog. F-16 didn't get
digital FCS until Block 40, where it was necessary for the LANTIRN
capability. 1989 onwards.

The first production fighter with digital FCS was the F-18 Hornet,
digital from the start. First flight 1980, into service 1983.

Trials aircraft using digital FCS begin with the NASA F-8C, as you note.
1972 is incredibly early for digital systems, the NASA program was
given some support by Neil Armstrong and used digital FCS and inertial
systems from the Apollo LEM. So there's a spinoff from the Apollo
program that you don't often see mentioned - digital fly-by-wire!

The AFTI F-16 program used digital FBW from 1982, and the BAE Systems
FBW Jaguar demonstrator (quad digital FBW) began in 1981.