Fly-by-wireless set for take-off , page 1

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Fly-by-wireless set for take-off

Topic started on 7-9-2009 @ 03:01 PM by refuse_orders
SHEDDING pounds isn't just a preoccupation of dieters, it is a prime concern for aircraft builders too. In a bid to cut weight to the minimum they are considering the controversial move of getting rid of the huge quantity of copper wiring used in modern planes and replacing it with a series of wireless networks. Users of Wi-Fi may be forgiven for wondering if this is wise. Reliability is not one of the defining characteristics of existing wireless networks, so employing them to operate a plane's flight systems might seem a little risky. But if they can be made robust, such "fly-by-wireless" networks have the potential to improve reliability and possibly even make flying a little less environmentally damaging. New Scientist Article This is quite an interesting concept, its pretty cool we are looking down these routes. Only thing that springs to mind as a potential problem is how easy it would be in disrupt the signals. Lets face facts no WiFi is secure, its bad enough so many networks are vulnerable as it is. How long before someone crashes a plane with just a laptop??
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reply posted on 7-9-2009 @ 04:03 PM by thaknobodi
It's a novel concept, i've seen it done, but it's just not needed. We don't need more bombardment of frequencies here on earth. Our airliners are fine, reliable old school fuel burners.
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reply posted on 8-9-2009 @ 11:16 AM by Zaphod58
reply to post by thaknobodi The major use of this would most likely be military. Fly-by-wire made fighters and even large aircraft more maneuverable, so imagine what fly-by-wireless could do for say an F-16 sized fighter, or even an F-22. Many years ago I took a tour of Dryden Flight Center (way back when the first C-17 was in flight testing at Edwards), and they had an F/A-18 that they were installing fly-by-light on one side to test, so this is a logical offshoot from that and other test programs.
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reply posted on 8-9-2009 @ 01:35 PM by kilcoo316
Originally posted by Zaphod58 The major use of this would most likely be military. Fly-by-wire made fighters and even large aircraft more maneuverable, so imagine what fly-by-wireless could do for say an F-16 sized fighter, or even an F-22. Nah. I think the major use of this will be confined to academia. If signals are all that is needed, fly-by-light is more than good enough to replace the current copper cables and maintain security while significantly lightening the loom weights. If power is needed as well as signals, then wireless is nigh on useless anyway.
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