[cripplecreek]

A lot of tech was conceivable long ago but it took modern computing tech to make them reality. The F117s would be extremely unstable without onboard computers sensing conditions and making constant adjustments without pilot input.

[taildragger]

That is true CC. However, I think the Boeing design was probably has positive static stability as it was designed way before fly by wire, and these guys were old-school. It might have made it less maneuverable, but that is ok. The F117 can't fly without the black box/fly-by-wire and we had one with a control system failure and it came apart in flight @ an airshow.

[Gaffer]

Yes. Also, IIRC the control surfaces of the B-2 is so important to stable flight it requires quaternary backup of the computer system responsible for it.