fly-by-wire (flight control system). A method of control used by some modern aircraft in which control movement or pressures exerted by the pilot are directed into a digital computer where they are input into a program tailored to the flight characteristics of the aircraft. The computer output signal is sent to actuators at the control surfaces to move them the optimum amount for the desired maneuver.
fly cutter (hole-cutting tool). An adjustable hole cutter turned in a drill press. The cutting tool is set so its distance from the center of the pilot drill is exactly that needed for the radius of the hole. The pilot drill cuts the center hole, and the cutting tool is fed very slowly into the metal. The cutting tool can be reversed in the holder so the edge of the hole being cut will be either straight or beveled.
“Fly heading…degrees” (air traffic control). Instructions issued by ATC to a pilot directing him to turn to and continue in a specific compass direction.
flying boat. An airplane whose fuselage is built in the form of a boat hull to allow it to land and takeoff from water. Most flying boats have small floats mounted out near the wing tips to support the wing when the aircraft is at rest on the water.
In the past, flying boats were a popular form of large airplane for long distance flights, but their inefficiency caused them to become almost extinct after the end of World War II, when there were land airports with long runways scattered throughout the world.