Originally Posted by
ETOPS
I did 4 years in command on the 777 with BA before transferring to the 747 so have seen both systems. The '77 is FBW so no pitch/power couple when altering thrust. Hand flying around the Caribbean is a pleasure I will never forget. This is because the autothrust works very well and always "has your back" with smooth adjustments to keep you on speed. I even liked the little nudge you felt through the levers at 25R which was the start of thrust reduction - it was a great clue to commence a gentle pitch up.
The 747 was a previous generation so autothrust wasn't as smooth and I found I could do a much better job fully manual. The trick was to pick your moment - two crew early morning arrival into LHR being a great excuse............to autoland!!
Not normally a Pedant, but manual / hand flying is defined as controlling the
speed and flightpath.