Special Lecture: F-22 Flight Controls

Slightly related, but there's a great hour-long lecture [1] by Colonel Randy Gordon, who's a test pilot, discussing the flight control systems for the F-22, contrasting it (a bit) to other jets, and even to a Cessna. He talks about the tradeoffs between human factors, mechanical engineering, software engineering, and shows how the software systems help the pilot. It's well worth the hour if you're an aviation geek. [1] [VIDEO]

I recently learned that this is an issue that bomber pilots / airplanes must deal with, when they deploy their payloads. Here is a video of a test pilot giving a talk at MIT on the F-22 and its advanced flying capabilities which --as he puts it-- makes flying an F-22 actually easier than a Cessna. [VIDEO] Apologies in advance for you losing an hour -- the talk is that good!

Interestingly, the F-22 appears to handle stuff like engine failures for you[1]. Perhaps it's inertia of regulations and training. Radically automating airplanes involves training loads of people. There's also certification, which is different for military aircraft than for civilian aircraft. [1] [VIDEO]