What does the DASH provide us?

• A. Pitch attitude hold
• B. Longitudinal static stability (positive stick gradient)
• C. Airspeed hold
• D. Altitude hold

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is pitch stability. The DASH is providing longitudinal static stability, meaning the aircraft tends to return toward its trimmed pitch after a disturbance in the nose-up or nose-down direction. The term positive stick gradient describes how the system responds to pitch changes: as the aircraft moves away from its trimmed attitude, the control forces change in a way that resists that deviation and helps bring the nose back toward level. In short, the DASH adds a restoring tendency in the pitch axis, damping disturbances and reducing pilot workload. It’s not about holding a specific attitude, airspeed, or altitude by itself—those would be functions of other autopilot or control modes.