alt Hacker NewsAirliners may look the same but they don't work as they did 50 years ago when the was no fly by wire in these planes, no high-bypass engines, etc.
Replies
zrail • yesterday at 7:23 PM
Eh, sorta. Fifty years ago was 1976 (I know, right?!). The 747 debuted in 1970 with high bypass engines. The A320 came out in 1988 with fly-by-wire and all Airbus aircraft since have been the same.
The biggest change from then to now is probably the amount of solid state electronics onboard. That's ridden roughly the same curve as other industrial and commercial applications.
Computers are many thousands of times faster and more efficient than they were 50 years ago. Airplanes still fly at the same speeds, and with only marginal safety improvements. Fuel efficiency has doubled however. Overall significantly less changes.