1001 Space Earth Nature History Human World Science and Technology Chemistry Materials Force and Energy Heat and Light Electricity and Magnetism Industry Machines Electronics and Computers Cars and Trucks Railways Ships Aircraft Fishing and Agriculture Undersea Exploration

How do computers fly aircraft? The control of an aircraft by computer is called fly-by-wire, and is designed for maximum safety. Three computer programmers write the same program. On the aircraft, the three programs are run at the same time on two separate computers so that if one fails there is always a backup. If one program contains an error, it is unlikely that the other two will. As a safety check, a fly-by-wire aircraft's two computers run three versions of the same program.   Previous: Back Book: 1001 Section: Science and Technology Chapter: Electronics and Computers