Thank you!
Wasn't writing this thinking I deserve any congrats...
Indeed we had been trained for that during the type rating. Flying a DC8 (and I guess a DC9/MD80 that seems to be using the same technology) without hydraulic isn't that tricky. Servo-tab technology allows low effort handling on flight controls. Indeed you only move tabs that must have the same surface than a Cessna 172's aileron or elevator. And these tabs themselves move the big 8's elevators, ailerons and rudder.
Simply, there's a little bit more inertia, that's why we were taught to move flight controls with a "staccato" style motion: moving them, block them and wait for matching aircraft response. And that works well..
And indeed, I also loved that good old Douglas..
