Load alleviation methods allow lighter wing structures and are therefore essential for increasing efficiency in fuel consumption and reducing the environmental impact of aviation. This paper presents a simulation-based methodology to evaluate static load alleviations strategies for a high aspect ratio aircraft aimed at reducing root bending moment (RBM), while considering the resulting drag increase. For that, a pilot-in-the-loop environment using the research flight simulator Simulator for Educational Projects and Highly Innovative Research (SEPHIR) at Technische Universität Berlin has been employed. The goal was to asses the effect of pre-defined control surface pre-settings (PS) on RBM, drag and comfort under realistic flight conditions and pilot inputs. The flight mechanicsof a virtual, Airbus A320-like aircraft with high aspect-ratio wings, developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK, was integrated into the modular simulation architecture of SEPHIR. A UDP-based real-time communication is used as an interface between the simulation model and the flight simulator, ensuring synchronized pilot inputs, consistent visual feedback, and continuous data acquisition for post-simulation evaluation. The study considered cruise and landing flight phases. For the cruise flight, four maneuvers were accomplished in compliance with CS-25 certification for load cases: (1) climb with a +2.5 g load factor (maneuver load), (2) level flight with turbulence using the von Kármán turbulence model from the MATLAB/Simulink Aerospace Toolbox (gust loads), (3) descent with a -1.0 g load factor under moderate turbulence (combined maneuver and gust load), and (4) a coordinated turn with 30° bank angle at +1.67 g. For the landing configuration, the RNAV (GPS) Z approach was implemented, including 1-cosine discrete gusts to represent CS-25 maneuver and gust load conditions. The simulation flight test campaign was performed by qualified test pilots using the direct law (assisted manual control) of the SEPHIR flight simulator. Three pre-settings (PS1-PS3) for the control surfaces and also a clean configuration have been tested. PS1 were defined and optimized to achieve maximum load alleviation. PS2 penalizes drag increase and performs weighted load alleviation. PS3 uses only five instead of eight control surfaces. In average, pilots considered that flying qualities have not been considerably affected by the passive load alleviation functions.