RRT
Why can't the AP simply hold "ATT" like we used to have with CWS (control wheel steering) 40 years ago? It would have freed up a few more brain cells.
Forgive me, but isn't that
exactly what the Alternate law does if left alone to fly the aeroplane?
So how does an airplane with a pitch-rate command or g command fly? Essentially, it
gives you attitude hold with controls free, similar to an autopilot's control wheel steering
feature. If you change pitch attitude and release control pressure at the desired attitude,
the system holds that new attitude because the FCS reacts to bring pitch rate to zero.
The airplane should fly nicely with pleasant control forces and precise attitude control.
Air Line Pilot, February 2000, page 18
By F/O Steve Stowe (Delta), Local Air Safety Chairman, Delta Council 16