Originally Posted by
bringbackthe80s
Crew workload in manual flying
Guys guys guys, if this is what’s occupying your mind these days, consider yourself VERY lucky indeed.
After lots and lots of words going around in circles, in the present circumstances this is probably one of the most relevant posts on here!
(While it's not particularly 'occupying my mind', I do "... consider [my]self VERY lucky indeed"!)
Back to the topic: Of course 'manual flying' increases workload. Autopilots were 'invented' to reduce workload. But the workload increases when the pilot(s) are out of practice with hand flying. What is the saying? "Practice makes perfect". Airlines that are discouraging the practice are increasing a potential safety risk for one day when the automatics fail. (I heard an airline's Flight Op Director once say "If I hear of any captain saying we don't hand fly in this airline, I need to put him right" -- that practice is important.) Many years ago I flew with someone who was hand-flying entire sectors regularly (OK, only about an hour length each...) and this prompted me to 'reciprocate'; after a short while we were both very proficient and accurate with our workloads coming down to near the levels of automated flight. "Practice makes perfect"! (It was a bit more tiring though, those autopilots
were invented for a good reason!)