Why aren't there simplified fly-by-wire helicopter controls? I was discussing helicopter control with relatives over the holidays, particularly regarding how difficult it is to fly one and how changing any control requires adjusting the other two main controls. One of my relations asked whether any helicopters have a computer control system that automatically compensates, allowing simplified controls that almost anyone could fly.

I replied that I had not heard of such a thing and could only guess why not:


Reliability concerns and possibly pilot training concerns (i.e., you'd have to know how to really fly in the event of a computer failure anyway, so why even have the computer?)  
Subtle complexities of the control interactions not lending themselves to reasonable computer automation.


Are there actually no systems like this? Why not? Were my guesses any good?

Regarding the possible duplicate, I saw that question and it seems to indicate that automatic simplified controls would be possible, but it doesn't seem to fully answer the question of why not have a psuedo autopilot that allows a pilot to just push forward on the cyclic to go forward (for example) without having to constantly adjust the collective and rudder at the same time.
Helicopter manufacturers seem to have been slow to adopt fly-by-wire systems. I used to work in the General Dynamics group which designed the fly-by-wire system for the F-16. That was the first production aircraft which had full-authority fly-by-wire (without mechanical backup systems). By the time I started working there, they were in process of updating the system to incorporate a digital flight control computer. The production required extensive coordination between multiple disciplines. As an electrical engineer, I regularly interacted with software engineers, control-law designers, test engineers, and "mechanization" engineers. It took many years for the company to develop such a culture, where each member is concerned with the efficiency and safety of the aircraft. I speculate the helicopter manufacturers didn't catch up for a couple of decades because funding was limited.

Here is an article which describes the Army's experience: Army Slow To Adapt Fly-by-Wire Controls for Helicopters

Funding aside, helicopters are ideal candidates for fly-by-wire systems. The obvious goal is to take a marginally controllable aircraft and make it both stable and maneuverable. That would dramatically reduce pilot workload. Most helicopter fly-by-wire systems accomplish hands-free hover and decoupled control inputs (i.e. sideways flight without needing rudder inputs).

The first helicopter which demonstrated a great fly-by-wire system was the Sikorsky RAH-66. It even achieved sideways flight at 60 knots and backward flight at 25 knots, using only cyclic stick inputs. Unfortunately, that program was cancelled in 2004. The first production military fly-by-wire helicopter is the NHIndustries NH90, which was the first helicopter to fly without mechanical backup controls, in 2002, and entered service in 2007. The first civilian fly-by-wire helicopter, the Bell 525 is currently under development.