Airbus A220's Unique Fly-By-Wire System a Hybrid of Airbus and Boeing Design

The Airbus A220's fly-by-wire system is unique among narrowbody aircraft. Developed by Bombardier's CSeries engineering team in Montreal before Airbus acquired the program in 2018, it combines Airbus-style protection with Boeing-style conventional handling feel.

Chief test pilot Chuck Ellis described the result as 'behaving like a Cessna 152' - a familiar and intuitive experience for pilots. The system uses sidestick controllers and envelope protection, but pairs them with speed stability and manual trim requirements, unlike the Airbus A320.

The distinction matters because it affects how pilots interact with the aircraft during normal operations. On the A320, releasing the sidestick holds the last commanded pitch attitude regardless of airspeed changes, whereas on the A220, releasing the sidestick returns the aircraft to 1g flight and adjusts pitch to maintain trimmed airspeed.

The A220's control law is designated CU, which handles blending between modes at low and high speeds. This feature provides speed stability, a key differentiator from the A320 in the cockpit.