In another answer on SE Aviation it is mentioned that the ability to perform Pugachev's Cobra in a non-thrust-vectored aircraft needs "docile pitch behavior of the airframe up to approx. 110° angle of attack"
Can an F-16 perform Pugachev's Cobra?
What does "docile pitch behavior" mean in this context? Does it mean that when the control surfaces are returned to neutral the aircraft has a natural pitch down moment that returns it to its horizontal position?
If so, does the pilot actually have control over how long he can hold the vertical position in Pugachev's Cobra? What control surface enables him to exercise this authority in the post-stall regime when I'd have assumed the control surfaces lack such authority?
Or is the holding time of the vertical attitude in Pugachev's Cobra beyond the pilot's control and only related to some sort of "natural period" of this maneuver in that aircraft linked to how long it takes the restoring moment to return the aircraft to its nose down attitude?