The idea of the Cambridge University fault-tolerant control system project (Flight International, 4-10 February) is nothing new to the flight-control computer community, and is a natural extension to the redundancy management functions built into these systems. Each flight-control system operates to a "reference model" of the aircraft it is controlling, known as the flight-control laws. A similar "get me home" function exists already in a few military aircraft.
It sounds to me as if this project is borrowing from existing technology to re-invent the wheel. What these systems would not be able to do, however, is to prevent pilots deploying flap/slat settings which degrade the aircraft's maximum glide capability. The claim that these adaptations can be made in a couple of minutes indicates that a fundamental lack of knowledge exists on this project as to the effects of control-surface damage on an aircraft. These adaptations in existing systems are made almost instantaneously, which is an obvious necessity to prevent situations such as an unrecoverable spin from developing. All of the flight control systems I have worked on make configuration changes in tens of milliseconds, not minutes.
P J Atkinson Kent, UK
Source: Flight International