Canal-U

Computerpilots ? Airbus introduction of Fly-by-Wire technology in civil aviation in the 1970s and 1980s / Christian Kehrt

Computerpilots ? Airbus introduction of Fly-by-Wire technology in civil aviation in the 1970s and 1980s / Christian Kehrt in "Naissance et affirmation du groupe Airbus (années 1960-années 1980)", colloque organisé par le laboratoire FRAMESPA (France, Amériques, Espagne- Sociétés, Pouvoirs, Acteurs) sous la responsabilité scientifique de Jean-Marc Olivier, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, 23-25 septembre 2020.
Session 4 : Patrimoines.
* Communication filmée en visioconférence.

The aim of my talk is to focus on man-machine interaction in the cockpit of the A 320. This story is especially revealing since aviation technology can be understood as a driver and exemplary testbed for major societal changes related to processes of digitization and automation that are currently widely discussed. Since the history of aviation cannot be told without looking at the very process of flying, I will tell the Airbus story from the view of the cockpit and ask:  How does flying change through the introduction of computers in the cockpit? What kind of learning processes and new qualifications were required to fly and control highly automated and computerized airplanes. What were the reasons for the Airbus company to considerably change man-machine interactions in the cockpit?  Processes of automation changed, redefined and even replaced many functions and roles of the pilot and the cockpit crew to the extent that the airplane can fully fly by itself and even overrule and disempower the pilots command and main control functions. I will argue that for the young European company digitized cockpits promised a leadership position by jumping ahead and determining the parameters of commercial flight for the 1980s and 1990s.