<p>Side control inceptor is ever more becoming an essential part of the cockpit controls of a highly manoeuvrable aircraft having fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system because of the advantages it offers in comparison to the centre sticks and yokes. The acceptable handling qualities of a side control inceptor depend upon its force-deflection characteristics, dynamic behaviour, sensitivity to high gain tasks and its ergonomics. In this study, a two-axis passive side control inceptor (PSCI) was designed and developed incorporating features such as breakout force, multiple force-deflection gradients, soft stop and hard stop. A dissimilar force-deflection gradient between the left and right roll of the inceptor was provided on account of biomechanics and arm movement kinematics. Simulation model of the PSCI was generated using simscape multi-body. The PSCI design parameters such as force - deflection characteristics, damped natural frequency and damping ratios were optimized based on the outcome of this model. Two prototype units of PSCI were manufactured and tested. The experimental values were correlated with the design and simscape multi-body simulation results. Optimum location of the inceptor and its orientation in the cockpit were determined by Virtual Reality (VR) studies and validated experimentally with different percentile pilot population in a test rig.</p>