Many moons ago, I was new on Challenger 604 flying with one of the type’s certification pilots. We were off to Monterey, California for a 3am arrival. He gently mentioned morning fog is common and then noted the approach plate “coupled approaches not authorized”, as he sat in the right seat. With some trepidation, off we went. Well, it was about 300-1/2 on arrival and the ILS was the best confidence builder possible.
But, these skills have to be deeply learned early and maintained. If they are only passably learned in the first 500 hours, it’s tough to learn them flying the line in today’s world. And, hand flying a departure or good weather ILS may not hack it.