Originally Posted by DozyW
I don't need to tell you that hydraulically-assisted controls need a few seconds to respond to demand now, do I?
I would not expect the delay to be as much as 'a few seconds'. In fact it isn't - if you look at pitch response to SS at 02:10:05. The point is that I suspect that after having held the SS fully back for a considerable time, you probably have to push it forward of neutral to affect the elevator. In consideration of the control law in pitch, just releasing the stick does not demand a reduction in pitch or load factor.