Originally Posted by
Vessbot
I have yet to fly a plane with auto brakes so no first hand experience, but all this talk gives me the feel of watching when someone's flying by twiddling the heading and VS knobs like an Etch-a-sketch and making a harder job for themselves, than simply using the yoke.
Nothing wrong with flying an aircraft by "twiddling" heading and V/S while on autopilot - most airliners are designed to do exactly that to make short term changes to flight path using the FCU ('glare-shield') controls, without having to disconnect the AP.
95% of the time, this is how we fly radar vectors and vertical profile to intercept an ILS, for example. It makes the job easier, not harder - especially when you are in busy airspace such as the London TMA, when it is not helpful if PF is hand-flying.
However, unlike the FCU controls, I don't think the auto-brake selector is designed or intended to be manually modulated (changed) during its operation.
PS, there is an argument that not hand-flying causes our manual skills to become rusty, but that is for another thread.