@Retired F4
This sluggish behaviour in pitch would be a new expierience to PF, especiually when the roll channel behaved quite differently (more agile).
I'm entirely with you regarding the relative changes in lateral and pitch control, although I believe the change from S/S demanding roll acceleration instead of roll rate to have been the important factor. But pilots who have tried it say that although the aircraft is more sensitive in roll it is by no means difficult - just like a non-FBW aircraft in fact, and the fact that the AF447 pilot got it sussed in 30 seconds or so seems to confirm that.
'Sluggishness' in pitch is a relative term and it it always difficult to find words that give the desired impression. Based on experience with other large aircraft I was thinking of numbers like these for cruise conditions (the times are approximate indications only)
For a demand of Xg
Normal: after 2 seconds Xg; 4 seconds 1.2Xg; 6 seconds and onwards Xg
Sluggish: after 2 seconds 0.7~0.8Xg; 4 seconds 0.9Xg; 6 seconds and onwards Xg
In other words the initial response would be less rapid but achieving the final desired 'g' not appreciably different.
Interesting would be, at what point those default values come into action. Is it the point where the speeds are lost or is there some time-delay / internal checking before this changeover takes place? And is this changeover sudden or gradual? Could the initial NU input be under the false speeds ( agressive) and the later correcting attempts under the default gains (sluggish)? When would the default gains be replaced again by the actual speeds?
I don't know of course, but I would think the default gains kicked in at once when the internal checking logic said go to Alt2B. That would place the whole sequence with the default gains. I can't see any change to these gains unless and until Alt2B got replaced by some other law - which didn't happen.