In article , Alan
Dicey wrote:

Alan Dicey wrote
The first production fly-by-wire aircraft was the F-16.

Eunometic wrote:

Concord actually. They even wanted to put sidearm controllers on it.

Ron wrote:

F-16 was the first with a DIGITAL FBW. I think Concorde, and
possibly F-111 too had analog systems.

Peter Stickney wrote:

F-111, actually. And, perhaps the A-5 Vigilante, depending on how you
want to define FBW.

A major problem here is that the term fly-by-wire was popularised as a
marketing soundbite by the GD team during the Lightweight Fighter
competition in the early seventies. As such it had no strict
engineering definition. Prompted by the original poster, I was using it
in the way that Harry Hillaker does: -

"'Fly-by-wire' is a totally electronic system that uses
computer-generated electrical impulses, or signals, to transmit the
pilot's commands to the flight control surfaces instead of a combination
of the push rods, bell cranks, linkages, and cables used with more
conventional hydromechanical systems."

(Harry J. Hillaker is retired vice president and deputy program director
for the F-16, General Dynamics Corporation)

- which does come down to a somewhat circular definition (fly-by-wire
is defined as what the F-16 has, so of course it is the first).
However, I think most people understand fly-by-wire to include elements
of electrical signaling and computer control, which leads us back to
Hillakers definition, which makes the defining characteristics:

* electrically signalled
* no manual connection
* pilot flies computer: computer flies plane.

The first two are what a fly-by-wire system is.
The third is one particular implementation of fly-by-wire.
And it doesn't matter whether it's analog or digital,
or whether the a/c is inherently unstable and the FBW
system keeps it in the air. Those are also just implementations of
fly-by-wire .
Claiming you're the first because of your particular implementation
is disingenuous.

--
Harry Andreas
Engineering raconteur