Farnborough, England – Lucas Aerospace has won a contract to supply the complete fly-by-wire flight control system on Fairchild Aerospace's new 728JET.

The contract, worth $960 million over the life of the program, will be the world's first application of a complete fly-by-wire flight control system with no mechanical reversion.

Ken Maciver, president of Lucas Aerospace, called it a groundbreaking contract with which his company will demonstrate the expertise it has gained from more than 100 million flight hours of safety critical software on engine controls.

Maciver cited Lucas' first-ever fly-by-wire system on a civil aircraft and the more than 400 million flight hours logged by its civil fly-by-wire controls. "With that record, we believe we had the most to offer on the 728JET, and we were pleased to find that Fairchild Aerospace concurred."

The new system will incorporate fully integrated electronic controls for flaps, slats, spoilers, ailerons, stabilizer, elevator and rudder, and will be designed and manufactured by a team co-located at Fairchild Aerospace's operation in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.

The 728JET will seat up to 78 in 5-abreast rows with a wide aisle in an interior cross section of 128 inches. It can be configured for mixed first- and economy-class service. The 728JET will be the first of a new family of jets that will be followed into service by the 528JET and then the 928JET.