NORMAL-LAW PITCH DEMAND, TRIM AND PROTECTIONS
In normal-law flight mode, sidestick input is a manoeuvre demand rather than a fixed elevator-angle command. The reference describes load-factor-related pitch control with automatic trim and adaptation for speed, configuration and other conditions. This explains why neutral stick can correspond to a continuing flight path rather than a return to a fixed pitch attitude. Pitch attitude, flight-path angle, load factor and airspeed remain different quantities. The pilot still commands the intended path and monitors whether the available thrust supports the required energy state. [73, PDF pp. 19–23] [87, PDF pp. 58–60]
Ground, flight and flare behaviour are separate parts of the law. The ground phase permits a more direct control relationship, transition into flight blends the applicable objectives, and flare logic changes the response near landing. Automatic trim does not mean the aircraft will land without a pilot’s flare command in a manual landing. The phase logic depends on valid references and the installed standard. Do not convert a source’s nominal radio-height transition figures into a universal simulator flare technique or a target pitch attitude. [73, PDF pp. 19–21] [87, PDF p. 60] [21, PDF pp. 188–194]
The normal-law protections address load factor, attitude, high speed and high angle of attack. They are related to valid sensed conditions, not a generic promise that the aeroplane cannot be mishandled. At high angle of attack the reference control objective changes; the protection-related speed indications and the load/configuration-dependent flight envelope must be interpreted together. VLS, protection-related speeds and stall warning are not interchangeable names for one line on the speed tape. A warning or a displayed speed does not independently prove the continuing availability of every protection. [73, PDF pp. 20–24] [60, Section 1.31.40, speed-scale presentation]
Alpha-floor is an autothrust function and must be distinguished from the flight-control angle-of-attack protection. A loss of one does not by definition describe the same control response as loss of the other. Likewise, disconnecting an autopilot does not automatically mean normal law has disappeared. In a protection exercise, record actual law, valid air-data/inertial sources, configuration, active thrust/guidance state and the observed response. This provides a testable mechanism rather than trying to infer all protection status from a dramatic manoeuvre or one reassuring green symbol. [73, PDF pp. 21–23, 29–33] [91] [21, PDF pp. 51–64]