Originally Posted by
hawk37
Well thanks for the inputs, Mr Tullamarine and Genghis. Some times you just have to believe what others in the industry tell you. This seems to be one of them. Guess I'll never experience what it's actually like, unless I magically get beamed into a cockpit that has a zero stick force gradient with respect to speed.
As has been mentioned, it's a light aircraft with reversible controls so not particularly representative of a modern heavy aircraft - but a C150L or C150M, ballast on the back bulkhead to about 90% of the available CG range, full flaps, power for level flight or a gentle climb - that'll give you about neutral apparent LSS. (Or, although I don't know the type so well, most variants of Zenair CH601 at mid to aft CG trimmed for a fast cruise will show you approximately neutral apparent LSS.)
Or if you're near LHR in the next few months, a colleague of mine is looking at risks of light aircraft departures from controlled flight as a function of apparent LSS gradients using a simulator near there. He's rotating pilots of variable experience levels through it, and I'm sure would be delighted to have another volunteer - particularly since it's much easier to get PPL volunteers than high hour ATPLs and for the research to work he needs a good spread of ability levels.
G