Originally Posted by
FrequentSLF
It might sound as a stupid question, but what would change columns forces other than a pitch up tendency?
IMO the real question is not whether there is a lightening of the controls (which seems certain), but whether the MAX ever reaches a point in the flight envelope at which the aircraft pitches up, rather than (gradually) returning to stable flight.
I am not convinced that such flight test data actually exists (yet), since it was sufficient to establish that MCAS was necessary, rather than test high AOA all the way into the stall region.
The skeptical/cynical/paranoid might suggest that Boeing intentionally did not test that part of the flight envelope, since the mere existence of such data would undermine their assertion that the MAX is not fundamentally unstable.
The JATR report may have now forced their hand, like a poker player forced to show their cards.