The first aircraft featuring a series production capable primary flight control system via optical fibres (‘fly-by-light’), has completed its maiden flight at Eurocopter Deutschland’s Ottobrunn facility near Munich.

A spokesman for the Franco-German helicopter manufacturers, said: “In contrast to fly-by-wire control, the control signals between the pilot’s station, the flight control computer, and the actuators for the rotor blade control are not transmitted electrically, but via optical fibres.”

The advantages compared to electrical data transmission comprise compre-hensive immunity to electromagnetic interference, a much broader transmission spectrum favouring the realisation of the future, demanding flight control and mission systems and low weight.