Fly by light: fiber optics for aircraft communication, control, and sensing

Rapid advances in fiber optic technology have led to development of new architectures and components for flight and engine control and onboard communication in aircraft. Such technology is often termed fly by light in analogy with the present fly-by-wire aircraft systems that are replacing mechanical systems. The primary motivations for using fiber optics are immunity from electromagnetic interference and lighting, lighter weight, smaller size, and a high degree of data formatting flexibility. This paper reviews a number of the architectural, system, and component technologies presently under development. Examples of flight test systems as well as research results are given.