Originally Posted by
lucille
By higher FLs I’m talking about 450 and above. By precise, I’m talking about +/-50 ft. and +/- 5 degrees. Reduced damping requires a constant eagle eye on PFD and the smallest of control inputs. Gets old after 5 minutes.
lucille,
Re. this and your first post, are you serious??
Have you ever tried it??
And there was/is no FBW in a B707 of B747 ---- or any aircraft of that era.
Indeed, demonstrating you capability to do just what you seem to think is so difficult (for you, it may be) was once mandatory, and practice hand flying at high levels in cruise was encouraged --- because it kept your scan sharp.
I grant that long periods could be tiring --- after two colleagues and myself flew a B707 Singapore/Djakarta/Perth/Sydney one night with a u/s autopilot, we all slept very soundly after the necessary cleansing ale.