Ever read Airframe, Michael Crichton's take on the industry via a fictional particular 'incident' ?
...but I'll try and get it sometime soon. Since you can't seem to stop recommending it, and all! :-)


It contains a pretty persuasive argument for 'letting the computer help', along with a reminder that most fighters today could not be flown without servo-loops making weird airfoil, pressure and other calculations, second by second.
Actually, AFAIK, "most" fighters today _are_ still inherently aerodynamically stable. All of them except the SAAB JAS 39 Gripen, that is -- or is the Rafale in production yet? The ATF/YF22 doesn't count; I'm fairly sure it's still just in the prototype stage.


So while Airbus might not be That naive (let M$ design our controls) they Must remain in death-struggle with Boeing, lest there be just The One US Monopoly.
Fuck knows how far they'll go... Not THAT far, I sincerely hope. One little ray of light that contributes to keeping this hope alive is the likelyhood (fact?) that as a European (Pan-, actually) company, they'll be more reluctant than Boing-boing to keep that _other_ "One US Monopoly" in power...


(Yes the NT epithet ought to be reserved for clear-cut boondoggles. I will do better, er less..)
(I just got the "Only the choicest German spam!" LRPDism, BTW. This has to mean *something*...)