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**Mxsmanic** · June 13th 07, 07:31 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting,rec.aviation.student

writes:

Got it. What happens to the g force acting on me as a pilot if I start
in straight and level, unaccelerated flight, and then I use down
elevator and enter a descent?

As you descend, you are accelerated downward. This acceleration is subtracted
from the constant acceleration imposed by gravity. If your acceleration
downward is less than 1.0 G, you experience a diminished G force, unchanged in
direction. If it is equal to 1.0 G (which would be quite a feat), you will
experience no G force at all. If it is greater than 1.0 G (unlikely indeed),
you'll feel a negative G force tending to lift you out of your seat. These
changes persist only for as long as you are accelerating downward; once you
are descending at a steady rate, you will again experience exactly 1.0 G.

The latter circumstances are unlikely because accelerating downward at 1.0 G
would give you a descent of 1920 fpm after one second, 3840 fpm after two
seconds, and so on.