The Active Stick
The Rochester, UK facility of BAE Systems has developed the world’s first control stick that tells a pilot, through feel, that the airplane is exceeding th

The Rochester, UK facility of BAE Systems has developed the world’s first control stick that tells a pilot, through feel, that the airplane is exceeding the design envelope. The stick provides discernably greater resistance when the pilot moves it beyond the limits by the aircraft’s flight control software. Unlike “carefree handling” systems, which automatically take control, the “active stick” system allows the pilot to make that final judgment of whether or not to push the envelope.