Boeing and the US Air Force will have to recertificate the new F-15SA's performance over the Eagle's entire flight envelope due to its new fly-by-wire flight control systems.
"The entire F-15 flight envelope requires clearance for the F-15SA fly-by-wire system," the USAF says. "The flight test to certify airworthiness will take approximately a year and a half to accomplish."
True fly-by-wire is a departure from the traditional F-15 hybrid electronic/mechanical flight control system. Previous incarnations of the jet were equipped with a dual-channel, high-authority, three-axis control augmentation system superimposed on top of a hydro-mechanical system.
However, Saudi Arabia's 84 F-15SAs on order will have its two outer wing weapons stations activated, making it necessary to implement a fly-by-wire flight control system.
"The main benefit for the fly-by-wire system is to compensate for the stability differences induced by carrying weapons in the one and nine stations - not used to date on any F-15 platform," the USAF says.
The service adds it is not yet known how the redesigned flight control system will affect the pilot. "It is too early in the flight test programme to appropriately characterise [the] 'feel' of the flight controls," the service says.
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